The Untold Tekken Story 2: King's Revenge
by JunKing
Summary: King has become depressed. It's been two years since the death of his stepson Peter. Armor King is now dead as well. All alone, King decides to take revenge on the man responsible...Marduk..
1. Prologue

This is my sequel to The Untold Tekken Story 1: Gifts Of Death. In this sequel, the fourth tournament is about to take place and King has lost Armor King. Now, he has become a depressed soul who vowed death to Craig Marduk. With the death of his step-son, Peter and now Armor King, what is King to do?

The Untold Tekken Story 2: King's Revenge

Prologue:

In a dark, cold grave yard, there is a man. A man who has lost much. He gives what little he can to those who have nothing. Tonight was a painful night for him. He was visiting his foster father's resting place. Tonight wasn't just a night of tears, it was a night of promise.

"Armor King, I swear to you…I will find and kill the man responsible for your death." He collapsed to his knees in front of the grave, crying a silent tears. "I promise."

End

Move on to chapter 1!


	2. WakeUp Call

Chapter 1: Wake-Up Call

The bright sun shines down upon brown, straight shining locks. A young woman turns with grace to enjoy a stray breeze. Early morning was her favorite part of the day. It gave her hope, that life was going to continue. Her name was Julia Chang. She was a beautiful young woman with the thorns to match the rose. The sunlight radiated off of her peach colored skin, giving it the appearance of a glow.

She sighed gently before climbing down off of her wooden roof. Her home was done with a Californian touch, despite the fact that she was living in Arizona. She jumped down the white vineyard-like fence that reached up the side of her home. In her hand were two letters. One addressed to her, and the other addressed to an old friend. 'It's been two years now…' She thought as she walked down the white stone tiles leading to another room.

Her fingertips ran across the tall white vineyard gates that surrounded her home. Passing the medium sized swimming pool, she smiled upon seeing the water rippling quietly. Small birds were drinking from it. She never put chlorine in her pool, she used fresh water. It was always as clean as could be, and it's blue glitter proved the point.

She placed her right hand in the back pocket of her denim blue jeans. Her left hand tightly held the two letters as she rested it on her hip. Her red t-shirt seemed to shine as she looked at the wooden door in front of her.

"I guess I'd better do this now." She said as she looked through her thin red trimmed glasses. Using her left hand, she slowly opened the door. There he was, laying face down on his bed. His head was hidden underneath a pillow. She approached his side, slowly taking her right hand out of her back pocket. The sound of her knees quietly landing against the wooden floor was the only audible sound. That is, besides the young man's snoring.

Smiling, she let her right hand travel underneath the pillow. She could feel his hair, followed by a slight movement of his head. Julia smiled as she stared into the dark brown orbs of the boy. She noted that his eyes looked like they had one giant pupil, she could barely see the outline of the dark brown eyes. A small smile formed on his face as she moved her smooth, gentle fingers throughout his brown hair.

She began to let her smile fade slightly as she spoke. "Sorry to wake you up. Some important mail came in this morning." She revealed to him the two envelopes. One had her name on it, the other had his. Hers was already torn open at the top, showing that she had already read it.

"What is it?" He asked quietly, obviously still not fully awake.

Julia focused her eyes on the half open envelope as she replied. "Something that will make you happy."

The boy pulled out the letter, a ticket soon falling out afterwards. He continued to read on. Suddenly, his eyes blinked rapidly. He was starting to fully awaken.

"Julia, an invitation to another King Of Iron Fist Tournament?! This will be the forth one."

Julia used her left hand to pat her ponytail. It was long and unbraided, a few strands of hair hanging down both sides of her face. "Maybe now we'll finally find King. He could return to the tournament. Ever since Armor…" She stopped upon seeing her friend look away.

"Things have been different." She rephrased. He nodded.

"I just keep thinking that if…Julia, I just think that if I had found them earlier, I would have been able to prevent Armor's death." Julia placed a tender hand on his cheek as she spoke.

"Even if we had found them before, there was nothing you could've done to stop him from being murdered." The young man nodded reluctantly. Julia stood up slowly, looking down to the envelope in her hand. "The tournament starts in eight days. It would be good if we left soon."

The boy sat up in the bed and nodded before removing himself from it. He headed for the bathroom as Julia reached for the black cordless phone. Carefully, she dialed the number that the invitation had given them.

"Hello. I'm calling to enroll in the King Of Iron Tournament. My name is Julia Chang…that's it? Ok. Oh, wait! I also wanted to enroll my best friend, he's entering with me…yeah…his name is Peter Colón."


	3. Reunited

Chapter 2: Reunited

"Ugh…why won't everything…stop ugh…spinning?!" The man named King said. He was drunk, sitting behind a bar in Arizona. He felt he needed a drink seeing as how the man named Craig Marduk was now free. Here's the catch. King freed him. He freed him so that he could kill him in the next Iron Fist tournament. King didn't realize that one drink became two, then three, then four, etc.

He could barely see. Everything seemed so foggy. He felt nervous. In fact, before he had gotten drunk, he felt only fear. What if he couldn't defeat Marduk? He would fail Armor King. That was a thought that he just could not entertain for long. Now he was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, beer bottle in hand. He looked at the half empty bottle of Corona. It barely stayed in his hand as it sat perched upon his right knee. His other leg was straight. He wore a pair of black jeans with a red and black flame designed t-shirt. His mask seemed to choke him as he continued to drink. Suddenly, figures started to come around the corner of the bar. King thought that he was perhaps hallucinating as he observed the men approach him. But to King's surprise, they began to speak.

"So this is the famous King. He's supposed to be the world's strongest wrestler. Look at him now, a wreck." King was too depressed to answer back, so he just raised the bottle of Corona to his mouth. He was shocked when one of the men kicked the bottle out of his hand. King was too busy focusing on the bottle breaking to pieces, to block the man's kick to his ribs. He choked out a breath of painful air as he grabbed his ribcage. Now, King was angry and the alcohol was causing him to become even more violent. He growled as he rose to his feet. King swung his right arm at one of the thug's heads. To his surprise, he felt nothing hit his arm. Rather, he felt a kick land in his backside, causing him to fall forward on his knees. The only thing he felt after that was a series of kicks in his sides, laughter accompanying them. Practically defenseless, King huddled himself into a ball.

Suddenly, a feminine voice came to his ears. "Hey! What are you doing?!" The men turned around to face her. She stood in the shadows, next to a man. The group of men approached slowly as one of them spoke.

"I don't think this is your business." He said. The woman stepped forward into the light. It was none other than Julia Chang. She smiled as her comrade stepped into the light past her. "I think this IS our business, when it's our friend and my father that you're attacking." King strained his eyes to see who was talking. He thought he heard that, but it came blurred to him. The same man responded to the young warrior. "Why don't you just go to hell?" The boy known as Peter stared intently at him before replying:

"Oh I've already been there and back and trust me…it's not all that." He then dropped into his fighting stance. "But if you'd like to continue, I'll gladly send you there." The three men looked at each other with anger. Suddenly, they charged at both Peter and Julia. King tried to see as his attackers attempted to bring down his rescuers. He couldn't exactly see perfectly, but he could make out the action. The female dropped to the floor, swinging her right leg out behind her attacker's feet. He fell to the floor only to be practically devastated. The woman jumped high into the air, feet together as she landed into his gut. King's eyes eagerly shifted over to the male who was now fighting the other two. Peter placed his hand on the red dumpster to his left and jumped up, kicking the first man in the chest. Julia rushed in to help, seemingly upset. After holding his chest, the man spun around and back slapped Julia to the ground. She hit her head against the floor and fell unconscious.

Peter grabbed the man by his shirt and slammed him into a wall, head butting him right after. Suddenly, a fist landed in the back of his head, causing him to lose consciousness. King widened his eyes in horror as the man walked over to him and pulled a sharp knife out of his pocket. The man raised it high in the air, smiling as he did so. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his armed hand and twisted it. The man yelled out as he dropped the knife. Peter caught it and shoved the knife into the man's underarm. The man widened his eyes in shock as blood began to drip out of his nose and mouth. Peter watched as he then fell to the floor. For a good half a minute, silence filled the air. King himself didn't know what to say because he had no idea who his protector was.

Peter finally broke the silence by kneeling down and feeling for a pulse in the man. Unfortunately, the man was dead. The knife went through his arm pit and plunged straight into his heart. This was the first time that Peter had killed anyone, and he was scared. Peter looked up at King with fear. "This isn't the time to be weak…" Peter whispered to himself. He noticed Julia coming back to consciousness. One look between the two told Julia all she needed to know. Knowing that King needed help, Peter stepped over the dead man and put a hand on King's shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. King said "…Uh…I think they kicked my ribs and uh…my stomach." After a short nod, Peter gently placed his palms against King's stomach.

"Tell me where it hurts." Peter moved his hands up King's stomach. King shook for a second and Peter then moved his hands up to King's ribs. King growled in pain.

"Sorry." Peter said. King still couldn't tell who this boy was, but he was reminded him of someone. "Julia, he isn't broken anywhere, just badly bruised. You okay?" Julia grabbed her head and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bump." Peter smiled at her before turning back to King. He tried to comfort him.

"Listen. Everything's gonna be okay, we won't let anybody hurt you. We need to hurry up and nurse his injuries Julia." King thought of someone and didn't want to let go. "Kid, you remind me of my son…" Peter snapped to full attention as King spoke. "He was nice like you, but he's…not with me anymore. But…" Peter waited for King to speak, but he didn't.

"But what?" Peter asked. King's eyes burst with tears as he replied "I had to do it!! He was dying and he asked me to and I…I should have been able to save him!!"

"It…it wasn't your fault." Peter said dryly. King continued. "I just wish…that he was here now…I feel so deserted…" Peter sat in front of King and wrapped his left arm around King's neck. "He's here…and he's always been." Peter whispered. King cried for a minute more, something he was unaccustomed to. Suddenly, he began to pass out. The last thing he saw was that young lady over the boy's shoulder. Then, his vision faded to black.


	4. Allies And Reunions

Chapter 3: Allies And Reunions

King awoke to the gentle caress of a cool breeze. Slowly, his eyes opened to see a wooden ceiling. An open window was in his view as well. The air was perfect, not too hot or cold. He looked down his body to see that he was lying in a bed underneath a cover. His ribs had white bandages wrapped around them. Next to him was a tray of food. 'Where am I?' he thought. On the tray was a large plate of sunny side eggs.

On top of the eggs was something shocking. A cherry. King always loved to eat his eggs with a cherry on top, something that Armor King and Peter had often scolded him for. 'Who else would know…?' he thought. Suddenly, the wooden door cracked open slightly. King looked over to see a brown eye behind glass in the door's opening. The door opened further to reveal Julia Chang. Wearing jeans and a yellow t-shirt, Julia entered the room and smiled at King.

"Julia? It's been so long!"

"Yeah, it's been two years now. It's great to see you. How are you feeling?" Julia asked. King felt the bandages on his ribs and said "Okay, I guess. How did I get like this?" Julia heard the phone ring. She turned her head and looked to where the phone was ringing. After holding her hand up to King in a "hold on a sec" motion, she darted to the phone and glanced over at the caller-id. She quickly picked the phone off the hook and returned to King.

"I'm sorry, I'll explain everything later. This call may take awhile. You should eat and then rest a little bit more. If you need anything, just call me okay?" King nodded as he smelled the wonderful aroma of his breakfast whiff into his nose. He was pretty hungry. Julia closed King's door as he started to devour the tray of food. Quickly, she turned her attention to the phone again. "Hi Petey."

"Hey Jules, I have to tell you what's going on. I'm keeping a close eye on Marduk. If he should get anywhere near King, I'll deal with him myself." Julia was shocked at Peter's reply. "Well, what are you stalking him or something?" She asked.

"I hired a spy. He's good at what he does Jules, don't worry. His name is Starcain Fireheart and he never fails. He's the best and he'll tell me where Marduk is 24/7. I'm on my way to see him now. I should be home in an hour. I'm bringing lunch, so what do you want?"

Julia played with the phone cord as she replied "How about Taco Bell?" Peter replied "Nah, King doesn't like that. He says that it's 'Bootleg Mexican Food', so anything else?" Julia shrugged and said "Fine, how about Wendy's?" Peter agreed and said that he had to go. "Julia, hang tight for a few minutes and don't tell any of this to King." Julia agreed and hung up the phone quietly. She knew that for King's sake, she couldn't mention any of this to him.

Elsewhere, Peter stepped out of his emerald colored Jaguar. After locking the door, he looked to a building in front of him. "Starcain is supposed to meet me on the roof…" Without further ado, Peter stepped inside of the building and swiftly opened the door that lead to the roof. As he jogged up the stairs, his all black outfit complimented the determined look on his face. Once he reached the top, he opened the door and looked forward. The man named Starcain was indeed on time, something that made Peter happy. Starcain looked into the sky, it was gray and cloudy. He was a black medium built male, with a black sweat suit on with a black bandana. Peter approached slowly.

"Starcain?" Peter called out. The man named Starcain turned around slowly and gazed his silvery eyes into Peter's brown ones. Peter stepped back for he felt slightly threatened and intimidated by Starcain. Starcain reached his hand out to Peter and said "Peter right? Nice to finally meet you in person." Peter took Starcain's hand and shook it firmly. Little to Starcain's knowledge, Peter had a surprise waiting for him. His eyes suddenly glazed over into Hell Mode as he smiled slightly. He pulled Starcain in to him and spun around, landing a firm kick into his face. Starcain looked shocked and he wasn't about to take that. Peter dodged Starcain's fists as he rolled to the side.

Starcain kicked at Peter's head as he rose from the floor. Peter caught Starcain's leg and rested it on his shoulder. Peter's right fist plunged deep into Starcain's stomach. As Starcain stepped back, Peter stood up and launched a high kick at his face. Starcain grabbed the kick and held Peter's foot to the side of his face. Suddenly, Starcain spun around and tripped Peter by kicking his other leg. As Peter fell to the ground, he felt Starcain's other foot kick across his face. Peter hit the ground with a loud thud. Starcain stood in his stance and stared at Peter's body. Slowly, Peter stood up and dusted himself off. All was quiet for a second before…

Peter laughed. "Sorry Starcain, I just had to make sure that I wasn't hiring a fake." Starcain sighed with relief and answered "No fake. Are you okay?" He asked as he noticed Peter wiping some blood from his nose. Starcain always cared about other people. Especially those younger than him. He had a tough childhood and knew what it was like to be young and restless. Peter smiled and said "Yeah, I'm actually relieved. Now I know that we'll be able to work together. Good moves." Starcain laughed and said "I could say the same for you."

"So, any word on Marduk?" Peter asked. Starcain replied, "Marduk is training for the upcoming tournament. He hasn't showed any interest in going after King, so far." Peter sighed with relief as he heard this. "Thank God. King's almost all that I have left in this world. I can't let him die." Starcain frowned slightly. "Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to him or anyone else you care about." Peter turned around and smiled at Starcain. And so, a friendship was formed.

"Well, I gotta get home. Thanks for all your help Starcain; I can see that you're not only helping me for the paycheck." Peter said. Starcain nodded as Peter turned and walked back to the stairs. After a few minutes, Peter was outside and re-entering his car. Little did he know that Starcain was still watching. He wanted to make sure that Peter wasn't followed. As soon as Peter left, Starcain directed his attention back to tracking Marduk. "I've got some work to do." He said as he soon exited the rooftop.

Later, Peter arrived home with the Wendy's. As he entered the front door, he kicked off his shoes and was warmly welcomed by his pet black cat named Lucifer. After a few seconds of playfully attacking the cat, Peter looked up to see Julia smiling at him. "Hey Julia." With that, the two kissed each other on the lips for about four seconds. "Is King awake?" Peter asked. Julia nodded towards the door and Peter slowly walked over. After opening the door, Peter saw that King was indeed awake. He was staring idly out the window. Peter smiled from ear to ear as he knocked slightly.

King looked over and made eye contact with Peter. A giant smile with tears came across King's mask. "Peter!" he cried out as he tried to jump out of the bed. King quickly stopped and cried out in pain. Peter ran over and asked "Are you okay!" King looked up and replied "C'Mere you." before grabbing him in a hug. Peter felt as if he was going to suffocate. Soon, King let go and moved over enough for Peter to sit down next to him. Peter did so as King asked "How did you survive! I mean, you couldn't have faked it, you were…" he stopped and tried to be happy for once. Peter nodded and said "It's a long story, but you'll get to hear it. I was glad to find you last night. Do you remember what happened?"

King thought and soon, flashbacks came into his mind. Pictures of terrible people attacking him, a few beers, two people fighting off the others, and a familiar kid. "You saved me last night?" King asked. Peter smiled and nodded. "Julia too." Peter said as he pointed to Julia. "You almost got killed." Peter said. Suddenly, another flash appeared in his mind. A body on the floor in front of him, a pool of blood, and someone standing over it.

"Did someone else die?" King asked. Peter looked down and answered "Well, you're alive and that's all that matters." Peter cheered up by smiling up at King. Now King felt horrible. He had gotten drunk and now Peter most likely had blood on his hands because of it. But right now, he was still highly interested in how Peter was still alive. "I still can't believe it's you!" King said as he hugged Peter once again, his now long black hair falling against Peter's shoulder. Julia smiled as she closed the door.

King took this opportunity to ask Peter again. "So, tell me. How did you survive that night?" Peter looked up to the ceiling and began to speak. "It was a gift, which I know I didn't deserve at all…" King sat still and began to listen to how Peter walked away alive.


	5. A Resurrection In White Flames

Chapter 4: A Resurrection In White Flames

Peter looked to King and said "First of all, I just want to thank you for…doing what you did to me. I know that it probably wasn't easy for you, and I'm sorry if I scarred you. It was just too painful for me to bear, and you took it away from me in a second. Thank you for everything that you did to help me out."

King nodded and waited for Peter to explain his miraculous survival. Peter looked to King and said "I was resurrected." This sent a shock to King. Peter began to explain more in depth. "You see, Julia had this pendant. According to legend, it was supposed to grant it's bearer any one wish. She wished me back to life."

Flashback

Julia stands in front of Peter's tombstone crying softly. She wants Peter back. "This time, things will be different. I…I wish that Peter was alive and well again!" Her pendant ripped off of her neck and hovered over Peter's grave. Suddenly, a white glow burst forth and a ray of light shot out of the grave. Julia watched as a body began to form slowly. As time went on, Peter's body was completely formed. Julia observed as Peter floated in the air, naked and huddled in the fetal position. His lifeless body was surrounded by what appeared to be white fire. The white flames spun around his skin and began to stick to it.

Suddenly, the white flames began to become clothing on Peter's body. After a good minute or so, Peter was wearing an outfit of brilliant white. He was wearing white pants, a white button-down shirt, white shoes, with a white trench coat. "Yes…Peter…it's you…" Julia whispered to herself. Slowly, Peter descended to the ground in front of Julia. Julia walked over to Peter's body and smiled.

She touched Peter's face and noticed just how pale his skin was. Suddenly, the color began to come back into his face. His eyes opened slowly, to see Julia's smile. In the darkness of the night, Peter looked around and began to remember his last thoughts. All he saw was King destroying him. Then he remembered that he was dying. He remembered the horrible Ogre and everything that had happened. "Julia, what is going on! I'm supposed to be dead! Please, tell me what is happening!" Julia embraced Peter's cold body and to her pleasure, he actually began to calm down. As Julia began to cry on Peter's shoulder, she heard the sound of crackling. Both she and Peter turned around to see that her pendant was now dissolving. It was no good any more, the wish was already made and granted. A look of shock and understanding graced Peter's face as he turned back to Julia.

"…Julia, thank you. I…I love you." With that, the two began to kiss passionately.

Back To Present

"That was two years ago King. But I've never been so happy in all my life." Peter said to King. King looked into Peter's eyes and asked him "So, you've been trying to find ever since then?" Peter smiled and nodded. This caused King to come close to tears. The thought that even when he was at his worst, somebody was out there trying to find him. "Well buddy, you found me. Don't worry, I'm not going to let you out of my sight." Peter smiled at King's words and replied "King, it's been two whole years. I've learned A LOT more Martial Arts since the last time we were together. I can DEFINITELY take care of myself now." King widened his eyes in shock, but quickly regained his happiness. Peter continued. "And when you get better, I might even show just how much more I learned."


	6. Prepared To Kill

Chapter 5: Prepared To Kill

Starcain watched as Craig Marduk trained vigorously for the upcoming tournament. The manner in which Marduk was fighting just cried murder. "I hope that Peter and King can take care of themselves in the tournament." Starcain glanced down at his watch with his hazel eyes and remembered that Peter was coming to see him again in a half hour. With one last glance at Marduk, Starcain turned around and left the dark rooftop from which he'd been watching.

Elsewhere, Peter drove with a little bit of anxiousness. King, Julia, and he were leaving for the tournament tomorrow. Though the three of them were entering as a group of friends, each individual had their own particular goals in mind. Along with the title and cash prize, the actual Zaibatsu was up for grabs. This of course motivated each fighter to train harder. King of course wanted revenge on Marduk. Whether or not he'd kill him, Peter didn't know. If he won, then he would use the Zaibatsu fortunes to help the many unfortunate children of the world. Julia wanted to reforest her homeland. It was a harsh desert now, and Julia wanted to make it green again. The Zaibatsu would aid her research greatly if she won. Not to mention how upset she was when she found out that all of her research had been destroyed in a huge burglary attempt where she worked.

Peter was entering the tournament to keep a close eye on King and Marduk, with the help of Starcain. That's what he told Julia anyway. For some reason, she felt that there was something else that he wanted, he just wasn't saying it. He told her that if he won, that he would use the Zaibatsu to have Marduk thrown away for life. Peter said that as long as Marduk was wasting away somewhere, that King would be happy. King had changed so much. He had let his depression get the best of him, so he temporarily let his orphanage be run by a friend of his until he finished Marduk. He had grown long hair, something that was unusual for him. He also began drinking a little more than he should have.

This all upset Peter because he felt as if he should have been able to prevent any pain to King. As it is, he already felt guilty for Armor King's death. But now, he felt that he would be able to make a difference. This is because he definitely wasn't that scared emotional train wreck that he was two years ago when he first met King.

Starcain stood upon another rooftop, waiting for Peter to arrive. Sure enough, Peter opened the rooftop door and walked over to Starcain. "Hey, any news?" He asked him. Starcain replied "He's training like a madman. It seems that he is prepared to kill." Peter shook his head at the reply. In his mind, he already knew that if Marduk went too far, he was going to kill him at first chance. He was not letting King be slaughtered by this man. Starcain stepped forward and asked Peter a question that he wasn't prepared for. "Peter, why are you pursuing this so much? I know that you are hiding something from me." Peter stepped back and got defensive. "What's it to you? Just do what I'm paying you to do." After saying that, he turned around and began to leave. "The tournament starts in three days; I trust that you'll be there."

Starcain didn't like doing a job that he didn't know everything about. He needed to know everything that Peter was hiding. As Peter was about to open the door, he felt a strong hand grab around the back of his skull. For some reason, he felt absolutely powerless to move. His body was frozen as Starcain held onto him. Starcain said "I didn't want to do this, but you left me no other choice…Now again, what is it that you're hiding from me?" Peter could no longer speak; just whimper quietly as Starcain entered his mind. Starcain closed his eyes and observed what was in Peter mind.

He saw many flashes, things that he did not intend to see. He saw Peter's thoughts jumbling at rapid speeds. He saw a younger Peter. He watched as he hung by his wrists shirtless, being beaten by a tall man. He resembled Marduk in many ways. He watched as Peter fell to the ground, bloody and unconscious. Suddenly, an older Peter appeared. He saw as a beautiful Asian with black long hair, red mixed in as well. She mocked Peter, fought him as well with an unknown fighting style. Starcain could feel hatred radiating off of the young girl. Peter aged again and this time, he saw him meeting King for the first time. What fear he felt in Peter's mind.

Now, Starcain saw an Asian woman in a white dress. She had a white headband in her hair as she smiled in front of Peter. Peter's mind began to feel peaceful, although remorseful at the same time. 'She's dead' Starcain thought. Now, an image of a tall green monster came to view. 'Ogre' Starcain thought. He already knew plenty about him. Peter's thoughts sped even faster now as Starcain watched. He saw Ogre bringing him to near death, other fighters being outraged at the fact. Suddenly, a terrible image flashed into view. King above Peter with a bloody hand as Peter's eyes closed.

Starcain snapped out of Peter's mind, not wanting to see anymore at all. Once he released his hold, Peter collapsed to the floor. Starcain knelt down to Peter and picked him up. He couldn't just leave him here like this. "Whatever's going on, I'll make sure that nothing happens to any of you." He said.

An hour later, Peter woke up sitting in his car. He was in front of his house. "How in the world did I get here?" He asked himself. He honestly did not remember what happened. The last thing that he did remember, was talking to Starcain when all of a sudden, he felt a massive headache. Then, nothing at all. Confused, Peter unbuckled his seat belt and took the keys out of the ignition. He opened the door and began to walk inside. Once he got inside, he saw Julia and King sitting down at the table eating dinner. "Where have you been?" King asked. Peter shook his head and answered "I-I don't know…I think I need to sleep. We're leaving for the tournament tomorrow and we really need to be ready. See you in the morning." As Peter closed the door, Julia and King looked at each with concern.

The Next Morning… 

King warmed up in Peter's weight training room. His injury was feeling a lot better and he was ready to brawl in the tournament. In the corner of the room, Julia and Peter sparred with each other. 'Peter's definitely improved a lot' King thought to himself. As he lifted a pair of heavy weights, King watched Peter's fighting moves as they were executed against Julia Chang. Julia also improved, her physical appearance even looking like it had matured much. As for himself, King was working on coming out of his deep depression. With Peter's help, King was slowly recovering. To King's surprise, Peter had been busy during those two years that they were apart. Not only had he learned first aid, but he also started a psychology course. Peter was generously sharing his knowledge with his down-hearted step-father. Together, they were slowly working through their traumatizing experience. Whether it was just the two sitting down and talking about it, or Peter reassuring King that killing him was the best way to end his pain. However, it no longer mattered because Peter was alive and well again.

They had to catch their plane in three hours, so King stopped lifting and took a shower. As the water hit his body, he felt as if he was about to melt away. Yes, depression was still getting the better of him. As he turned his back on the hot stream of water, he thought about his whole life. What was his purpose? Why was he that person that always gave, but never received? Why did HE have to lose his step-father, both of them? Why didn't he have a fair life? Why wasn't his childhood happy? Why did his parents abandon him? Why did he have to carry such large burdens? Why couldn't he be happy for once? There were no answers for his questions. These thoughts saddened King greatly as the water began to slightly turn cold on him. Once he realized, he reached for the shower knob and turned off the water. Whatever was going on here, he would be fine and he would be back to his old self again. Or at least that's what he thought.

Well, soon King, Julia, and Peter were on their way to the airport. Little to King and Julia's knowledge, Starcain was also following. After all, Peter and him had a deal. As they boarded their plane, Peter looked around behind him until he spotted Starcain. Knowing what kind of mission the two were on, they both knew that they couldn't even smile at each other. There was to be little to no suspicion at all. So without even the slightest acknowledgment, the two looked in two totally different directions. As Peter turned around, he knew that they were all in for a wild ride this time around. Again.


	7. A Shocking Betrayal

Chapter 6: A Shocking Betrayal

A dark and starry night offered it's beauty to King. It was almost as if it was doing it's best to comfort him. Comfort was exactly what he needed. "Oh Armor King, I hope that I won't fail you." Just as he said this, Craig Marduk opened his hotel window and began to light a cigarette. At the same time, Starcain was watching from a nearby bush. In his hand was a large shotgun. He used the gun to target Marduk.

No harm was going to come to King. As King continued sitting on the wooden bench of which he'd made himself comfortable, a lit cigarette landed on his head. "Agh! What the hell!" He yelled as he threw the cigarette away from him. Immediately, he glanced up to see Marduk above hanging halfway out of his window. "Mister King! Just wanted to show you my gratitude for freeing me from jail." King growled with anger before saying "Gratitude, huh! You don't have a strand of decency in that mammoth body of yours!"

After a laugh, Marduk replied "Don't worry, you'll join your idol Armor King soon enough." King angrily replied "He was my FATHER!" Apparently, Marduk showed no sign of regret as he said "Yeah, well whoever he was, you'll be just as useless as he was!" King growled with his usual jaguar-like roar before he stood up. Marduk leaned forward more as he appeared to want to fight. Starcain determined that this was going to far, so without any warning, he shot a bullet towards Marduk. It hit the wall next to him, causing him both King and himself to gasp. "What the hell is goin' on!" Marduk cried as he jumped back inside and shut his window.

King looked around fearfully, hoping that he wasn't going to get hit. He was alert, using his heightened senses to sniff out the sniper. Starcain quietly snuck away while King searched eagerly. Starcain felt bad for King. Before he took the assignment from Peter, he did a background check on King, and he determined that he was an overall nice guy. It wasn't fair what happened to him and Starcain knew it. Marduk was just a lowlife jerk, consumed with rage. On the other hand, King was leaning towards the same view. He was bent on revenge. "Ah, who am I to talk." Starcain said to himself. MANY events in his life dealt with him getting revenge against those who opposed him.

Suddenly, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his back pocket. After ducking into the shadows, he flipped opened the cell and read who the caller was. "Peter? What now?"

In a few minutes, Starcain met Peter on the roof of the Training Area. Peter simply stared into the black of the night as Starcain approached. "Peter? I got your call. Is everything alright?" As Peter slowly turned around, Starcain froze up in shock. Peter's eyes were glowing red as he smiled and replied "Oh, everything is quite fine with me. Don't know if you'll be able to say the same." Peter ran towards Starcain and flipped into the air. Starcain barely dodged to his side as Peter's right leg came crashing down towards his face.

Starcain grabbed his shotgun and aimed at Peter's head. Just as the loud "blam!" noise rang through the air, Peter bent down and sweep kicked Starcain so that he landed on his back. "Peter! What are you doing!" Starcain yelled as he stood up. With a second thought, Starcain refrained from blasting Peter's brains out. He lowered the shotgun which he was holding and stood in his 'Jaded Pride' fighting stance. At first, he thought that this Peter was an imposter, but now he realized that this was really him. No matter how angry he felt, he couldn't kill his friend and put King deeper into depression. Peter apparently lacked Starcain's rare merciful attitude. He reached behind Starcain's back and unsheathed the sword which he always carried. "Razi!" He cried out as he attempted to re-take his prized possession.

Suddenly, Starcain felt his struggle end as he looked down to his stomach. Peter was smiling at him as he held Razi. As drops of blood fell to the ground, Starcain dropped to his knees, for he was impaled with his own sword. Peter smiled at Starcain and said "Your father put up a better fight than you. He died this same exact way as well. How tragic." With that said, Peter left Starcain to die on the dark rooftop.

Peter made his way downstairs, passing several of the other fighters on the way. They all yelled out in shock upon seeing Peter's eyes. Bryan Fury laughed and stood in front of Peter. "You look like you could put up a good fight." Peter looked up into Bryan's eyes and said "Can you?". With that, he threw Bryan feet away and through a nearby glass door. Julia saw this and ran to help. As she grabbed on to Peter's shoulders and asked him what was going on, he continued to walk and ignore her.

"Peter, it's happening again isn't it?" Peter kept walking and Julia said "Peter, I don't want to hurt you. Stop now." Her warning went unheeded. She put herself in front of Peter and stopped him from continuing. "I said STOP damn it!" Peter stared down into Julia's eyes and without warning, slapped her out of his path. Julia hit the floor and rolled up into her fighting stance. Peter suddenly noticed her. "So YOU are the one who used the pendant. I will have mercy on you." Julia charged at Peter and jumped into the air, kicking him in the face with her left leg, then her right. Peter staggered backwards, but caught Julia's next kick. With a short smile, Peter tossed Julia backwards, causing her to land into her friend named Christie Monteiro.

Peter laughed as everybody backed away. Christie yelled to him "Hey! Rat bastard! What's your freaking problem!" She quickly quieted as soon as she saw Peter's glowing red eyes glaring at her. "Call me…Ogre!" With that, Peter turned around and stepped over Bryan Fury's body. He walked briskly before bumping into King. "You…get out of my way. Now!" King looked confused and said "Peter, what's wrong?" Peter didn't answer, he just pushed King out of his way and said "I'm off to get revenge against that Jin Kazama. He who killed me, will suffer greatly."

King ran after Peter and grabbed him around his waist, holding his arms as well. "Peter! Stop now!" Peter surprisingly burst out of King's grasp and said "If you want to die too, then it will be my pleasure." With that, he ran at King and kicked him in the side, where his injury was. King fell to the ground, but quickly stood back up. As Peter punched at him, King grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, then jumping up and wrapping his legs around it. Peter fell to his back as King used a painful Arm Bar. Amazingly, Peter rolled up and kicked King in the face. "Leave me alone if you want to live!"

Suddenly, Peter's eyes returned to brown. "King, stay away! He might-" Then they returned to red. King backed away and watched Peter glare him down. He obviously lost interest, for he turned around and walked off into the night. Julia and Christie appeared next to King. "Where did he go!" Julia cried while Christie helped her stand. King replied "I'm not sure. What's going on!" Julia looked to the ground and said "It's a side effect of the pendant…"

Elsewhere, Jin falls to the floor. "What is it that you want!" It is then that he realized that Peter was not himself. "Yes Jin, Peter is not here. I am Ogre and I have been reborn through this body so that I may exact my revenge upon you!" Peter raised his fist into the air but suddenly, a hand held it back. Peter spun around to see Starcain pointing a gun in his face. "Go back to where you came from Ogre."

Blam!

Peter fell to the ground. Starcain departed just as Jin saw Starcain leave. King, Julia, and Christie then arrived. "Oh God! Peter!" cried King and Julia as they ran over and grabbed hold of Peter's now lifeless body.


	8. Starcain's Method

Chapter 7: Starcain's Method

"No! He's been shot!" King cried out. Jin stood up and said "I don't know who did it, he just came and shot him!" King grabbed Peter and asked Jin worriedly "Where did he get shot!"

Jin looked down and said "The man shot him right in the head." Julia whimpered out loud as Christie knelt down to Peter. "Uh, where's the bullet wound?" Everybody stopped mourning and looked at Peter. They too saw no bullet wounds. After feeling for a pulse, King yelled out "He's still alive!" This came as a shock to everybody else.

"Well, come on, let's get him to the infirmary!" Christie yelled. King picked Peter up and ran with the others as fast as he could to the infirmary. The place was pretty much empty as they ran in. "Help, please! We think he's been shot!"

An Hour Later…

A doctor wearing a white coat walked out of a small room and approached the group. "Well, there were no bullet wounds found. However, we detected that there was a strong mental blow delivered to him. We're not sure what caused it, but-" suddenly King cut him off. "You're a DOCTOR! You're SUPPOSED to know!" Julia motioned for him to calm down. The doctor continued "I'm sorry sir, we have never seen anything like it. Are you the boy's father?" King nodded while looking at the ground.

"Well, that's good. He was just asking for you." The doctor said. King looked up and said "Wait you mean he's fine now!". The doctor smiled and nodded. Then, he moved to the side as King nearly ran him over. Everybody laughed upon seeing the doctor's shocked expression. Julia explained "Don't think of him negatively, they've been through a lot together."

Inside the room, Peter sat in bed staring out the window. "Pete, thank God you're okay!" King called out as he walked over to his bedside and sat down. Peter could not smile as King was. "King, I'm sorry that I attacked you. I was honestly trying to stop." He said. King looked at him and said "Julia told me everything. Why didn't you tell me that you had a portion of Ogre in you? Did you think I'd be afraid of you?"

Peter looked back and said "I didn't want you to have to worry about something like that. And I honestly thought that I was going to be able to control him. But something's different…I don't feel him anymore." King sighed with relief and said "Do you remember being shot? Jin said that a man shot you in the head." Peter grabbed his head and replied "Well, that would explain my splitting headache. But no, I don't remember that. The only thing I remember was training with Julia, then telling her that I wanted to get some air on the roof. After that, Ogre took over and I don't really remember what happened. But I remember you almost dislocating my arm!"

King looked down and said "Yeah, sorry about that." Peter smiled and said "No, don't worry, that's what probably saved my life." King looked up and said "So, I guess you'll be quitting the tournament? It starts the day after tomorrow." Peter looked up and said "No, I'll be there. This won't stop me." Suddenly, Peter looked out of the window and slightly went wide eyed. Then he turned back to King and said "Well, I'm tired. They're gonna keep me here till tomorrow morning. So, I'll see you then?" King got the hint. "Sure buddy, see you tomorrow." With that, King left the room and returned to see only Julia.

"Christie and Jin went to go rest after hearing that Peter was fine. You okay?" She asked. King nodded and said "It's just that I feel like I'm doing everything all wrong for him. I don't know what he thinks of me anymore." Julia stood up to him and said "King, he searched TWO YEARS to find you. I can't even TELL you how happy he was to find you again. Every night during those two years, he sat there and cried himself to sleep. And you're his step-father on top of that! Believe me, you're the best thing that ever happened to him. Never doubt that." King smiled at Julia as she finished speaking. "Well, I guess when you say it like that…" then he started laughing.

"So, is he still awake?" Julia asked. "Oh no, he just went to sleep as I left. But don't worry, he's dreaming of you." Julia smiled and said "He better be. Well, let's go eat something, it's been a long day for all of us." King nodded and left the hallway following her. Just as she opened the door, King looked back towards Peter's room and looked puzzled. 'Probably nothing.' He thought as he exited the building.

Back in Peter's room, he flicked off the lights and opened his window. Starcain jumped down into the room and greeted him. "Hey, do you remember what happened?" Peter shook his head and said "No, but I had a feeling that it was you who saved my ass this time." Starcain laughed and replied "Sorry about the head shot. It was the only way to get rid of Ogre once and for all." Peter smiled and said "So, he's gone?"

Starcain nodded and said "Well you see, Ogre murdered my father. But before he did, my father came up with this cartridge that would kill all of Ogre's brain cells. He never got to use it, but I helped him make it myself. So I used it on you and he's completely dead now. The cartridge used not a bullet, but a field of electric currents that completely destroyed the brain cells that they were programmed to kill. You're safe now."

"Well thanks for saving my life, even you almost killed me." Peter said tauntingly, but in a playful manner. Starcain looked at him and said "You, or should I say Ogre really pissed me off. You stabbed me with my sword and basically almost killed me. Luckily, I have a healing factor in my blood. You mentioned how my father fought better and how he died the same way. It's true, he died on Razi." Peter looked at Starcain in confusion. "Razi?"

Starcain reached behind his back and unsheathed his sword. "Razi. It's the sword that my father used in combat. It's special in that it's like no other sword in the world. He fought with Ogre using Razi, but Ogre grabbed it and killed him with it. Ever since then, it's been my way of remembering my father." Peter looked down and said "Starcain, I know what it's like to lose someone. Ogre killed my whole family to get to me." Starcain already knew this from the mind probe that he used on him earlier. He looked at Peter and said "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better and no one stabs please?" he said in a joking tone. Peter laughed and nodded.

Starcain chose not to tell Peter what had happened earlier with Marduk because he didn't want him to have to worry about it. It was done and over with and Peter didn't have to think about it. "Well, I have to go check up on Marduk and make sure he's not up to anything. See you around." Starcain said. Peter nodded and as Starcain jumped out of the window, he said "Thanks for watching over us Starcain…"


	9. She's Explosive!

Chapter 8: She's Explosive!

The next day, King was told that Peter was released promptly at the crack of dawn. Apparently, he could not stand the tension before the tournament. "Alright thank you doctor." King said as he turned to leave. "Oh yeah, and sorry about the outbreak yesterday. I was just a little stressed out and I reacted harshly." The doctor nodded and said "Its okay, I understand. When it's their child, parents normally get very defensive. Hope the tournament works out fine for you guys." King smiled and said "Thanks." as he left.

Once he got outside, King noticed a group of people standing around in a circle. They were cheering and yelling in excitement. As he got closer, King could see that the crowd had their attention on the fighter named Christie Monteiro. Surprisingly, Peter was with her. They were both sparring intensely, drawing mass fan clubs. Christie swung around with a neat looking roundhouse kick as Peter ducked. He laid on his side and kicked up at her ribcage. She backed up and jumped into a back flip as his two legs aimed to trip her. Once she landed, Peter had just stood up. The two stared at each other with a smile on their lips. Christie got more attention, seeing as how her stance was highly active while Peter's was one of patience and timing.

Suddenly, Peter charged at Christie and attempted to kick her stomach. She cart wheeled to her left using no hands and kicked Peter's chin. With a small groan, he turned to see Christie flipping towards him. He was unprepared, causing him to be hit by her flip kick. "You okay?" She asked after he hit the floor. He looked up to her and smiled. Suddenly, he launched himself into a series of cartwheel kicks towards her. Christie gasped as Peter kicked her chest and stomach. After landing, he stood patiently in his stance. Christie regained her composure and resumed her dance-like stance.

King noted that they weren't really hitting each other all that hard. Where they friends now? Sure, she was there to help last night, but she was Julia's friend. That's the next thing that King thought to do, look for Julia. Sure enough, as he searched the crowds, Julia was standing right in front. He moved his way through the crowd towards her. "Hey. What's going on here?" He said. Julia looked up and smiled at him. "Oh it's pretty funny actually. They're fighting over a slice of pizza. Whoever wins gets it." Julia looked down into her lap. King saw a pizza box there. Julia opened it and in it was one last slice.

This whole situation caused King to just crack up. He hadn't truly laughed like this for the longest time. Julia stared at him in shock as he continued to laugh. For some reason, Christie and Peter just looked so funny. "King, are you okay? You're not drunk or anything right?" Julia asked. King just pointed and said "Just look at 'em Julia. Cart wheeling each other to death over a pizza. HA HA HA HA HA!" Julia snickered at his comment. Peter turned around and saw him laughing. King stopped laughing right away as Peter's devious glare told him to. Without warning, Christie swung her leg into Peter's chest and tackled him to the floor. This caused more insane laughter from King to burst forth. Christie hopped on top of Peter as he tried to get up. She pinned him down by his shoulders and leaned into his face. "That pizza….IS MINE PETEY BOY!"

Julia looked less than pleased as she saw the two. Peter swallowed nervously. Christie smiled and said "What's the matter? Too close for comfort? Think Julia's jealous?" Julia rose up and walked over to Christie. "Ahem, your pizza." She said angrily. Christie looked up and saw Julia holding the box out to her. She happily grabbed it and leaned even closer to Peter's lips. Peter could feel her hot breath patting his lips. Just as she was about to kiss him, she opened the pizza box and jumped off of him. "Just kiddin' with ya!" she said as she helped Peter to his feet. As she looked inside, she yelled.

"Where is the pizza!" she fumed. Looking around, she noticed King shoving the rest of the pizza crust into his mouth. He laughed at Christie as she began to pout and stomp in frustration.

King smiled at Peter, for he noticed that Peter was pale and sweating heavily. Julia looked at Christie and said "Hope that WE don't fight in the tournament!" Christie smiled and replied "Well well well Julia, I guess we'll just have to see about that." The two stared each other down before Peter shyly interrupted the contest. "Easy ladies, there's enough of me to go around." he said in a joking manner.

Julia smiled and offered her hand to Christie. With a smile, Christie took her hand and told her "Believe me; you're lucky to have a guy like him." Looking at Peter, Julia noticed that Peter was so red; he could have passed off for Santa.

After giving Julia a small smooch, Peter walked off to join King. Upon reaching him, Peter punched King softly in the arm saying "You enjoy it when I'm a wreck don't you?" King grinned as far as he could as Peter rolled his eyes.

"Up for sparring?" King asked Peter. Peter nodded and replied "Yeah meet me in the gym in five minutes." That being said, both fighters took to their separate ways. Elsewhere, Christie pushed open the glass doors of the gym and stepped inside. She was wearing a tight red vest with black shorts, strings with beads hanging from the sides. Everything seemed so fun for her in public. If only she really felt that way. Inside, she was a girl torn by emotion. She had a purpose. She had to find Eddy, and this tournament was her only clue.

Sitting down to do some stretches, Christie noticed that there was something in the rafters on the ceiling. The rafters were dark, so she couldn't see anything; she just knew that there was something there. 'I am the only one hearing this?' she thought as she began to look at her surroundings. The only other person in the gym was the big man named Craig Marduk. He had been lifting weights, but was now on his way out of the back door of the gym.

As soon as Marduk left, a figure dropped down from the ceiling. Although Christie didn't know him, it was Starcain. With his black jumpsuit and bandana on his head, the dark skinned man took off his sunglasses to see Christie better. Christie, still in shock, barely said a word as she looked into his silvery eyes. She noticed that he wore a shotgun around his back as well as an unknown weapon that was tied around his waist.

"I call it Razi." Starcain said as Christie looked on. She noted that even though he looked as deadly as sin, she didn't feel the least bit threatened. Standing up on her feet, she replied "Oh that's interesting. But…what were you doing up on the ceiling?" Starcain looked down and said "Well, call it a bad habit."

Christie laughed to herself before saying "So, plan on doing any damage?" She nodded towards his weapons. Starcain looked first to his weapons, then back to her before he replied "No. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Curiosity got the better off her, and before she knew it, Christie was asking another question. "So, are you a fighter in the tournament this year?" Starcain shook his head in answer to her question. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know a man named Eddy Gordo would you?" Christie asked, getting her hopes up.

"Sorry, never heard of him." he replied. Christie frowned, but soon cheered up as she had an idea. "Care to spar with me?" Starcain was in total shock at her question, the young woman showed no fear whatsoever. Really think of it, would many normal people ask a guy wearing a gun and sword who just fell from the ceiling to fight with them? 'Guess she's not normal. She's brave.' Starcain thought to himself.

"Sure, you'd be honored to spare with such a wonderful gal like me right?" Christie said in amusement. Starcain admired her now. Shrugging, Starcain removed both his gun and Razi as Christie began to prepare. Turning to face her, Starcain wondered what her fighting style was.

"Here we go." Christie said as she made a gunshot gesture at him before getting into her stance. Starcain quickly noted that she used Capoeira, the fighting style of rhythm and timing. With a smirk, Starcain got into his Jaded Pride stance and prepared to attack.

Swiftly, Starcain jumped into the air and kicked at her head. He was surprised when she did some sort of twist that moved her out of the way and landed her fist into his stomach. Realizing that she actually knew what she was doing, Starcain decided to step it up a notch. He ran forward and launched several punches towards her midsection. The first one connected, but afterwards she began to gracefully dance out of the way. Starcain dropped to the floor and put all his weight on his left hand, as his right leg came up to kick Christie. The kicked landed in her chest, causing her to lose her air for a second. Cart wheeling away from him, Christie began to catch her breath.

There was a small silence that filled the air before Christie resumed her fighting stance. Quickly, she launched herself into the air, her legs following her as she kicked Starcain in the chest. Losing his balance, Starcain hit the floor behind him. "Hey did you hurt yourself?" Christie said tauntingly. Then, she unzipped her red vest and discarded it to the floor, revealing a black work-out bra underneath. Pulling her ponytail out, she let her hair fall down her shoulders as she said "It's too hot in here." In shock, Starcain let out a gasp as he thought 'How's a guy supposed to fight under these distracting circumstances!'

Waiting for him to get up, Christie slowly made her way towards Starcain. Her dancing-like approach caused Starcain to smile and say "You're smarter than you look."

With a mock voice, Christie replied "I always had straight A's in school and it only took me two years to learn the art of Capoeira, while it took my teacher seven." Starcain smiled and slid across the floor at her feet hoping to trip her up. It didn't work and Starcain found himself dodging a series of well timed kicks. Beginning to punch at him, Christie increased the speed of her attacks. Jumping back, Starcain was in surprise when he found himself flat on his rear. Christie had sweep kicked him and now held her foot against his throat.

Starcain could do nothing but laugh as Christie let him go. "Okay, okay you win." he said, knowing that she just got lucky. Christie exhaled heavily and said "My name's Christie Montiero. What's yours?" Just then, she offered her hand to help him up. Blushing, he took her hand and was pulled up to his feet. In reply, he told her "I can't let anybody know my name. But it was a pleasure to meet you. Good luck in the tournament." With that, Starcain disappeared into the ceiling again as King and Peter walked in.

"Christie?" Peter said as she looked at them. Looking back to the ceiling, Christie noticed that the window near the back was swinging back and forth. Starcain was gone.

With a shrug and smile, Christie turned to look at Peter and King.

"How about you two. Would YOU guys like to spar with me too?"


	10. To Confide Is To Hide

Chapter 9: To Confide Is To Hide

The early morning air was cold and moist. All were asleep, all except for one. The masked wrestler named King. He worked on a wrestling dummy to ensure his attack maneuvers would be successful against Marduk. Inside of him, there was so much hatred. This caused King to often feel guilty about himself.

The orientation was today. King and the others spent most of the time posing for character pictures and headshots, signing pictures, and hanging around with Peter and the gang. While it was a time of peace, King couldn't keep something off his mind.

His growls and roars echoed throughout the gym as he practiced without rest. The smell of his own perspiration rose up into his nostrils, causing him to fight harder, more intense. Grabbing on to the dummy, King swirled around it in a complete circle before landing the dummy abruptly on the floor in a messy heap. King looked behind him and saw that the dummy had broken open.

"I wouldn't want that to happen to me." a voice said. King, shocked and surprised, looked up to see Peter standing there.

"Easy, it's just me." Peter said as he raised his hands in an 'I surrender' like manner. "By the looks of things, it kinda looks like you're ready to…kill…"

King looked down before wiping his face off with a wet rag. Then, he looked up at Peter and said "Never know, it IS a fighting tournament after all." Peter was stunned at the way he answered the question, so he sat down in front of King on the floor. He knew that it was time to talk.

"The King I knew would never say that." King looked down, not even thinking to look up as he said "People change Pete." With that, King began to rise. He was surprised to see that Peter had grabbed hold of his arm to stop him.

Quietly, but in a voice that demanded respect, Peter said "Let's talk about it." King felt remorse for what he was thinking to do. He wanted to kill Marduk, and he didn't want anybody to get in his way. 'I have to avenge Armor King, no matter what.' he thought to himself. But there was something else, like a part of his inner self that cried out for help. Deep down inside, he really didn't want to kill anyone.

Peter began to speak. "Revenge is such a evil feeling. It feels like your best friend, when it's actually your worst enemy…"

Thinking about his options, King sat down to listen to Peter. He was surprised that Peter spoke this way, given the rage he had against himself and against Ogre during the last tournament. King felt the guilt weigh him down. Peter had lost his whole family to a monster. Now here he was, trying to be there for somebody else.

"I guess the two years that we spent apart really changed you too." King replied, trying to make the air carry less tension then it already had. Peter continued.

"So…what are you feeling right now?" King looked up for a brief moment as he replied "I feel hurt. I feel like it's not fair, and I feel stupid for letting this all happen."

"Letting _what_ happen?" Peter asked.

"Peter…Marduk didn't go a free man by himself. I…I paid for his release…" Peter was shocked to hear what King was telling him. "…so that I could kill him during this tournament…"

A few moments of silence passed by the two. Peter finally looked up and said "Well, you don't have to do anything. Just think of it all. If you kill him, you'll be in jail. And will you look any better than him? Don't go down to his level."

King looked up and replied "You don't understand. I vowed to kill him. I can't just back down now, not when I'm so close. And he's already free from jail, I can't put him back. How can I let him walk away free now?"

"Let God take care of it. A man like Marduk won't get away with his crimes forever. Eventually, he'll get what he deserves. Listen. You have a lot of people that look up to you, myself included. How will you look if you kill him in front of all those people?"

King took a minute to think about it. It all made sense, maybe he didn't have to kill him. Maybe everything would take care of itself. So he would beat him in the tournament and that would be it. No murderous intent. "Thanks Pete, you really helped me to see what's right." He looked up to Peter and smiled.

Peter smiled and replied "No problem, that's what I'm here for. Let's all try our best to win the tournament so that we can change the world with the help of the zaibatsu."

The two of them stood up and shook hands. "C'mon King, let's go hang out with the others."

Later…

The rooftop was dark and cold. Peter stepped out of the door on the rooftop to meet his friend. "Starcain…" he said into the air. Within seconds, Starcain dropped to the roof and looked to his friend. Peter, in a frantic rage, began to rant on to Starcain.

"Starcain, I don't know what to do. King's thinking about killing Marduk and while I was able to talk him out of it today, who knows what he'll do when the time comes. I want you to kill Marduk if King ever has to fight him. I think he could lose control and I don't want to see him behind bars because of a mistake like that."

Starcain took in all that Peter had to say. "Don't worry Peter, Marduk will never reach King in the tournament. You have my word." With a smile and sigh of relief, Peter turned around to make his exit. "I've got to go meet my girlfriend, so I'll see you later?"

Starcain nodded and then Peter waved goodbye as he exited the hotel's rooftop.

Later…

Julia took in the night air as she waited for Peter. Sighing, she laid back down on her bed, closing her window as she did so. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Julia rose up to open the door.

When she opened it, she realized that Peter had looked a little worried. "Hey, anything wrong?" she asked as she kissed him. Peter shook his head and replied "No everything is okay. You know how it is. Pre tournament jitters. It starts tomorrow and I feel so ready. How about you? Everything okay?"

Julia twirled around in a circle as she answered "Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about our future. I love you…do you know that?" Peter smiled while taking his coat off. "Of course I do, and I love you too." Feeling a bit more at ease, Peter lie on the bed next to Julia. The day had brought many stresses to the both of them, and tomorrow was going to be unforgivable. The beginning of the tournament.

"Let's sleep. We're gonna need it Jules. Goodnight." Peter said as he kissed Julia on the forehead. "Goodnight Pete, I love you."


	11. It Begins

Chapter 10: It Begins

The air was calm, a breeze coming through King's hotel balcony. It was still dark out, but this was the morning of the tournament. Today was the day that it all began. He would eventually be allowed to prove himself. While he didn't want to, he was beginning to null Peter's words.

He was slowly thinking about killing Marduk again. What would he do? He was a man torn between revenge and morality. If only everything could just change. If only the circumstances were different, then he could let Marduk live. But Marduk had committed a serious crime not only to humanity, but to King's own heart. He would not allow Marduk to walk free after what he had done.

King had finally decided. Marduk was finished.

Elsewhere, Peter and Julia stared into each others' eyes. Today was the beginning, and it would last for a few weeks. They were all at risk, and the two young fighters knew it. With a small voice, Julia told Peter "It's time. Today I might be able to get closer to reforestation. But you, what do _you _want from this tournament? You never told me what you planned to use the prize for."

Peter looked at Julia, his look becoming more fierce. "I want justice, and this will help me to get it."

One by one, all the fighters began to awaken. They all sensed the tension in the air. Some felt confident, some felt doubtful, but all were ready to battle. Julia and Peter left to go check out their fighting schedules. Peter looked for King, but couldn't find him. He hoped that he was going to be okay. Along the way, Peter and Julia bumped into one of their old friends, Ling Xiaoyu.

"Hey guys!" Xiaoyu said cheerfully as she hugged both. With her, was a girl that neither Julia nor Peter had recognized. Noticing their confusion, Xiaoyu said "Oh I'd like you to meet my best friend. Her name is Miharu Hirano. She's participating to test her skills, and to help me find Jin."

The young red headed girl had hair that reached her shoulders, the ends puffing up. This complimented her thin light brown eyes. She wore a black t-shirt with black jeans. Shyly, she reached her hand out to Peter and Julia and said "It's nice to meet you. I think you guys did very well in the last tournament."

Taking her hand first, Julia replied with a thanks as did Peter. Trying to see what type of person Miharu was, Julia asked her a question. "So, do you have the newbie jitters?" Miharu laughed before nodding, her cheeks becoming red instantly. Peter found her to be pretty, but he dare not tell that to Julia. Miharu replied "Yeah, I'm really nervous, but Xiao told me to be confident. Anyways, you guys had felt this way during the last tournament, since all three of you were new to it."

The group laughed together, but they soon got serious as they noticed the attendant pinning up the fighting schedule. Together, they walked to the list to see who they were all to fight.

"I'm fighting Nina Williams." Peter said out loud.

"I got a girl named Sasha Abhaya." Julia muttered.

"I have to fight Lei-Fang. She must be new this year." Xiaoyu noted.

"And I'm up against Hwoarang, is that the jerky red headed dude you told me about Xiao?" Miharu said, as Xiao nodded while laughing.

Just then, King stood beside Peter and said "Good morning all, let's see who I am fighting…ah Steve Fox, he's that new boxer."

"So, everything okay?" Peter asked King as the two wandered away from the group. King nodded and replied "Yeah I'm fine. I'm just wondering what to do with the prize if I win. I think I'll donate it to the orphanages around the world." Peter nodded and said "That's very noble."

The two of them sat there in silence, each thinking about how difficult it might be to win this year, what will all of the new contestants this year.

An hour later, all the fighters stood in the lobby of the hotel as they looked up to Heihachi Mishima. His body could be seen against the glass ceiling as a background. He began to speak. "Good morning to all. As you well know, the tournament begins today. I will be watching you as you make your way to the grand prize over the next few weeks. With that said, good luck and LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"


	12. The Heat Of Battle

Chapter 11: The Heat Of Battle

Xiaoyu bowed to the opponent in front of her. Her enemy was a woman in her twenties. She wore a sleeveless red Chinese dress which had slits up the sides for leg movement. Her hair was tied into two buns on the sides of her head, her bangs peering over her eyes. Lei-Fang was her name, a veteran from another famous fighting tournament.

Xiaoyu, dressed in a simple pink sundress, dropped into her stance, ready to attack. She had done some research on her opponent. Lei-Fang was a master of T'ai Chi Quan. Anybody could tell that she was focused, with her stance being composed of slow movements and heavy breathing. Lei-Fang was called a "Fighting Genius". She even fought in heels.

"Ready?" the announcer said as the two young women stared each other down.

"Fight!"

Lei-Fang was the first to move. Jumping towards Xiaoyu, she spun her right leg towards her head. Taken by surprise, Xiaoyu moved out of the way only to be hit in the back of the neck.

After landing on the floor, Lei-Fang twisted around, her leg becoming a falling log crashing into Xiaoyu's stomach. With a short gasp, Xiaoyu retaliated with a firm smack to the face. Next, she kicked at her stomach. After blocking it, Lei-Fang touched her face. Her head was ringing and her eyes were watering.

Quickly, Lei-Fang spun around to kick. Xiaoyu got down into her Phoenix Stance to avoid the kick. Then, she rammed her palms into Lei-Fang's stomach. Before she could react, Xiaoyu sweep kicked her to the floor of the sandy caged arena. As she moved forward to attack, Lei-Fang grabbed her hands and dug her right heel into the other girl's stomach. Before she knew it, Xiaoyu was flying over her and hitting the ground.

The audience roared with excitement as the two women rose to their feet. Both were obviously tired, but somebody had to win. Xiaoyu ran to attack, her black pig-tailed hair waving fiercely. She kicked up diagonally across Lei-Fang's chest, sending her into the air slightly. With her back turned to Lei-Fang, Xiaoyu back handed her, then came around with another hit, concluding the combination with a rear kick that hit Lei-Fang all before she could land on the ground. This was her Dark and Stormy technique.

With a loud thud, Lei-Fang hit the ground, not bothering to get back up.

"K.O.!" yelled the announcer.

Xiaoyu bent sideways, stretching her arms and shoulders as she mumbled something in Chinese.

Elsewhere, King swung at his opponent Steve Fox. Steve was highly evasive, with quick fists. King learned to never underestimate his opponents.

Avoiding a flurry of punches, King backed away from Steve. The next punch that Steve threw was caught by King. King pulled him in and grabbed his shoulder. After swinging him around, King jumped into the air and thrusted both of his legs into Steve's back. Steve slammed into the cage of the arena, his body slowly sliding down.

King had taken a few good hits, his chest bruised. Unlike most fighters, he waited for Steve to get up before attacking. Standing up slowly, Steve had a plan. Spinning around, Steve punched at King's chest and while King blocked it, he snuck in a quick uppercut. King staggered backwards, unprepared for a follow-up attack. Without flinching, Steve punched King in the stomach three times.

With a quick movement, King grabbed hold of Steve's arm and jumped into the air, landing on his back with Steve's arm in between his legs. King held his arm in a tight lock, a lock that threatened to break it. Steve cried out in pain and shock.

"Just give up!" King told Steve. Unwilling to lose, Steve withered around without success. He was finished. "Alright, alright you win! Now let go of my arm before you break it!" Steve yelled. King released his grip and stood up in triumph.

"T.K.O.!" the announcer cried out.

King, unable to hold in his joy, began to dance around in front of the cameras. Today, he was closer to his goal. After posing for some pictures, King walked out of the ring. Suddenly, King heard a familiar voice.

"Well congratulations big guy! You just took down one of the toughest newbies!" It was Peter, come to share his happiness with his step-father. King smiled and replied "Yeah I did it. Took quite a beating myself though, my chest is killing me."

"It's nothing that you can't handle." Peter said, a smile of admiration across his face. King smiled as he threw his arm around his step-son and the two left the arena. They were heading towards the beach nearby. Miharu was about to have her first match. She was up against Hwoarang, one of the tournaments many returning fighters.

Miharu stretched her arms out as she stood in the sand. She had her hair tied back behind her head in a very small ponytail. She wore a red oriental dress top, with a pair of black, red-trimmed shorts. Her black Nike sneakers were brand new, ready to be broken in. Hwoarang stood across from her wearing an army uniform. His red fiery hair was gelled up into spikes. Miharu thought that this young man was kind of cute, though he was WAY too cocky for her tastes.

She looked around in the audience. She smiled and sighed with relief as she saw Xiaoyu, Peter, Julia, Christie, and King all giving her a thumbs up.

"Little girl, are you ready! You're going to go down with one hit!" Hwoarang yelled to her. Miharu ignored his remarks, as they would only anger her and she would lose her composure and focus.

The fight was about to begin as the announcer prepared to start the battle. Drops of sweat fell from Miharu's fair features as if slow motion had arrived upon her. Then, it began. The cry of "Fight!" had bounced throughout the air, an echo replaying over and over in Miharu's mind.

Hwoarang ran forward to Miharu. She knew that he was strong, and she also knew that he was fast. Thankfully, she was faster. Speed would be her ally in this fight, since if she wasn't; a few hits would take her out.

Miharu cart wheeled out of the way of Hwoarang's kick. From there, she leapt forward and thrusted her fists into his collar bone. Hwoarang spun around like a loose top, kicking Miharu away from him. Recovering quickly, Miharu charged at Hwoarang, grabbing him by the legs as she tackled him to the ground. Once on top of him, Miharu unleashed a flurry of punches and slaps to Hwoarang's face.

Suddenly, Hwoarang flipped over on top of Miharu and began to choke her. Miharu would not allow herself to be caught, so she grabbed hold of his wrists and used her legs to throw him over her head. Next, she ducked to the floor and spun around, sweep kicking Hwoarang. Before she knew it, Miharu was dodging long ranged kicks.

She collapsed to the ground, as if in slow motion. The crowd looked at the two in amazement. It appeared that Hwoarang's last kick had done the job. Smiling, Hwoarang turned around to the crowd, but Miharu wasn't finished. Opening her eyes, she tripped Hwoarang, kicking him with her other leg as he fell. That was it. Miharu had turned the tables. She stood up in victory as the crowd cheered her on. This was her first fight that she even won. She liked the feeling.

"She's good." Peter mumbled to King. King clapped along and replied "She's good because she's got brains and speed."

Elsewhere, Jin looked on in awe. He had begun to hide himself, only being seen in public when he had a fight. Deep down inside, he felt an evil feeling boiling within his stomach. He couldn't believe it, but he was beginning to crave the thrill of the fight…


	13. Fight!

Chapter 12: Fight!

Julia strapped her headband on as she walked forward through one of the hotel's many parks. Today was going to be her first match. Her match was against a newcomer named Sasha Abhaya. Julia had never heard of her before, so she was unsure of how she worked. She had, however, gotten the name of her fighting style. It was something called Soul Technique.

When she had talked to Peter about it, both of them were puzzled. Was this Sasha a threat? Only time would tell, as her match was approaching it's deadline. There were plenty of interesting characters this time around. Most fighters looked at Yoshimitsu as if he were outer worldly, but the new challenger named Ghoul put him to shame. As a matter of fact, the two creatures were to battle each other soon. Julia and Peter had never seen him, just heard about how grotesque he looked.

A week and a half had passed by and a few matches had already been won. Each fighter wanted something, and they would stop at nothing to achieve it. Julia was on her way to the hotel's garden. Many of the female fighters had said that the garden was their favorite place to fight. Although she was a girl, Julia had to admit that she was quite the stereotypical tomboy. While most of the girls played with flowers and dolls, Julia was busy climbing the Arizona cliffs with her mother, Michelle Chang.

Here, in this garden, Julia's destiny could possibly unfold for the better. If she lost, then her goal of reforestation would be destroyed. Reaching forward, she grabbed hold of a beautiful red rose. She noticed that the thorns didn't cut her.

Suddenly, Julia looked to her left and saw a beautiful woman. She looked of Middle Eastern descent. The girl looked around Julia's own age, and she was adorned in violet puffy pants, with gold slippers. She wore a violet bra-top with her hair braided in one piece behind her head. She wore a violet headband and something very interesting. It looked like a black scarf/shawl that was attached to the bra. It reached from the top left corner of the bra and extended all the way around her back, ending in a gold ring around the girl's middle finger.

The girl spoke, with an accent that complimented her beauty. "In India, there are things that are more beautiful than flowers." Julia let go of the rose and turned to her, saying "Like what?"

The girl smiled and replied "Like the soul, the body."

Julia smiled at the remark before asking "Sasha right?"

The girl in front of her nodded, a small smile forming on her full lips. Sasha stepped forward to shake Julia's hand. "It is Julia no? I am not familiar with American customs completely. At least not yet."

Julia shook her hand firmly before looking around her. All around the two women, were crowds of people waiting for the fight to begin. The announcer stepped forward to begin the event.

After explaining the rules, he stepped away and got ready to announce the beginning of the fight.

Julia dropped down into her stance, both fists held away from her chest, with most of her weight balanced on both legs. Sasha went back into what almost looked like a dance. She slowly swung her hands in front of her, one in a fist, before popping her left arm back behind her. She continued to loop this maneuver, making Julia ask "So what exactly is Soul Technique?"

Sasha smiled and replied "You shall see."

Tribal drums began to beat wildly through the air as the announcer put the megaphone to his lips.

"Fight!"

Julia was the first to move. She jumped forward with a fist, aiming for Sasha's midsection. Surprisingly, Sasha moved her stomach flexibly to the right of the attack. Using Julia's disorientation to her advantage, Sasha grabbed hold of Julia's fist before she pulled her closer. Then, she charged her right fist from behind her head, over the back of her neck, and into Julia's face. Next, she bent forward, bringing her right leg over her back, crashing into the top of Julia's head.

Sasha jumped backwards with grace, offering a smile of sportsmanship. Julia underestimated this girl. Her small physique seemed to pack more punches than it looked like it could. Julia quickly put together her opponent's style in her mind. She seemed to rely on flexibility to attack.

Julia ran forward and dropped to the ground, sweep kicking at her opponent. Sasha jumped over her leg before slamming her right foot down into Julia's thigh. Grunting in pain, Julia rolled backwards to avoid a follow up attack.

Sasha moved forward, shaping her body like an arrow as she flung her protruding fist at Julia as she rose to her feet. Julia reacted swiftly, grabbed her punch before returning one of her own. Sasha jumped backwards, grabbing her nose. Using this moment, Julia spun around, whipping three powerful kicks into Sasha's side.

Before Julia could put her leg down, Sasha grabbed it and spun around, slamming her hand across the back of Julia's head before spinning the opposite way and sweep kicking her to the floor. Julia looked up to see Sasha bending over backwards, slowly bringing her legs crashing down towards Julia's face. With a quick roll, Julia moved out of the way and slammed her fists into Sasha's back. Sasha flew forwards, hitting the dirt in front of her.

Jumping into the air, Julia held her feet together and aimed them at the bottom of Sasha's back. Being caught off guard, Sasha had only time to gasp for air as Julia landed on her backside. Upon hopping off of Sasha's back, Julia assumed that she was done for. Something surprised her, for Sasha was rising to her feet. Swiftly, Sasha charged at Julia and wrapped her shawl around her throat, as she tripped her to the ground and held her there. Julia felt like she was going to lose, but suddenly, Sasha collapsed to the ground.

"T.K.O.!"

Sasha moaned in pain and discomfort as Julia helped her up to her feet. Smiling, Julia said "You fought well."

By this time, Julia had determined that Soul Technique was heavily based on Yoga.

Victory. Julia had won and she felt thrilled. Suddenly, she remembered that something was happening. Her new friend Miharu was going up against Marshall Law…


	14. Loss And Revealing

This chapter is dedicated to Firebat!

Chapter 13: Loss And Revealing

Elsewhere, Miharu sat on the floor in a meditation like manner. She had been resting in the temple where she was supposed to meet her next enemy. His name was Marshall Law and he had a reputation that shocked her. He wasn't necessarily the type of fighter to lose. She had barely defeated Hwoarang, so how much more difficult would it be to defeat an opponent who participated in the first two tournaments?

Miharu sat before a statue of the Buddha. She wore black pants with an orange tank-top. This was the Hon-Maru temple. Here, the battle between the young teenager and the older man would ensue. The crowd of people stood near the walls of the large empty space. Miharu felt as if she were sitting among a horde of blood-thirsty monsters. These people around her, they wanted to see violence.

That thought didn't sit well with Miharu, for she became to feel paranoid of the whole crowd of individuals around her. In the crowd was her best friend Ling Xiaoyu, along with her newfound friends, Peter and Julia. It was then that she realized that she had to snap back into reality. Her opponent had arrived. The battle was about to begin.

Slowly, Miharu rose to her feet and stood opposite Law. She respected him, because he didn't seem like the type of fighter that would disrespect her. The announcer came to the two and asked "Are the both of you ready?" Miharu looked up to Law. He nodded in silence. This reassured Miharu, and she nodded as well.

Time seemed to flow in slow motion as Miharu walked a fair starting distance away from Law. The two stared at each other before getting into their respective stances. Miharu could feel uneasiness within her. Law felt a stride of confidence, layered with his respect for his opponent.

"Fight!"

Right away, Law charged in for Miharu. He grabbed at her side, but she cart wheeled to the right, guaranteeing her with safety, for now. As soon as she planted her feet into the ground, she swung her right leg around to kick at Law. He caught it with ease, tripping her to the ground right after.

Once Miharu hit the floor, she closed her eyes in agony, waiting to feel the next attack. To her surprise, she opened her eyes to see Law in his stance, waiting for her to rise. 'He's got such a code of honor.' she thought to herself. Taking advantage of his kindness, Miharu rolled backwards and stood up. That's when Law charged at her again.

This time, Miharu charged at him as well. She threw her open hand at his stomach, aiming to disorient him. However, Law was too quick, as he charged his fist into her stomach. Coughing, she backed away, thinking of what to do next. Then, she had an idea. She cart wheeled to her left as he ran over to her, kicking his face with the tip of her sneaker. Quickly, and without letup, Miharu grabbed the back of Law's neck and slammed her knee into his back. He collapsed forward, gasping for air.

The audience cheered inside the temple, making Miharu almost lose control. She was satisfied with her last hit, it looked as if she had stunned him. Not long enough however, as Law soon turned around, his right fist aiming for Miharu's face. Thinking quickly, Miharu grabbed his fist and tossed it to the side, kicking his chin as she did so.

Shockingly, Law kicked Miharu in the stomach, then he grabbed her back and lifted her off of her feet. With no way to get down, she yelled out in anticipation of the pain she would soon feel. She found herself tossed to the floor, falling in a messy heap. Her legs hurt bad, for she had landed on her side and her legs hit the ground first. It would seem that her victory earlier was now irrelevant, she felt as if she would lose this match.

Rolling to the side, Miharu prepared for what felt like her last defense. She rolled underneath Law's legs and stood up, lifting his right leg into the air with her. With all her might, she spun his leg as hard as she could. Law spun around in a full 360 before falling to the ground. Dust rose from the floor as he smacked his body into the earth. Miharu got back into her stance and prepared for any other attacks.

With a muffled grunt, Law stood up and faced his opponent. He had been in many fights before, but this girl was full of endurance. Most of his opponents before had been beaten within a lesser time frame as this one. But he already knew that the outcome would be in his favor. This girl, while she was good, wasn't good enough to defeat him. She was merely good enough at defending herself from his advances. He charged at her again, launching his fist towards her chest.

Miharu blocked his punch, but was taken off guard when he leaped into a backflip, kicking her square in the chest. She was lifted off her feet slightly, falling back down to the wooden floor beneath her. She landed on her back, not bothering to get back up. She was beaten.

Law got out of his stance and walked over to help her up. Miharu was glad to take his hand, the pain she felt was beginning to subside. "You want to know why you didn't win?" Law asked.

Dazed and confused, Miharu replied "Sure. Why did I lose?"

"You didn't have enough confidence in yourself."

Later…

Peter left Miharu's room. He had given her some tulips. He found out from Julia and Xiao that those were her favorite flowers. Julia wasn't jealous, in fact she was happy that Peter was nice enough to care. Peter had been feeling nervous all day. His first match was tomorrow. He would be fighting the tournament's number one female veteran fighter, Nina Williams. Peter didn't have a doubt that she was good, he knew she could hold her own. He just felt that it would be embarrassing to lose his first match.

Something was wrong tonight. Peter had noticed that the reasons he thought he used for entering the tournament, didn't seem to hold water on their own anymore. Of course, he wanted to protect King, but there was something else. Something violent and completely out of character.

"Hey Pete wait up!" Xiao called from behind. Peter stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "I just wanted to say thanks for all you've done for Miharu. You have no idea how much she truly appreciates it."

"Well, how she seems to be doing okay now. I'm just glad that there was something I could do." Peter said. Xiao smiled before replying "Yeah, she's okay. The only thing badly wounded is her pride. She's upset that she didn't get farther into the tournament."

"It happens to the best of us Xiao." Peter replied coldly.

"Oh look who's talking, Mr. I-Got-Second-Place-Last-Tournament." Xiao said mockingly. Peter had to laugh. "Jeez Pete, you talk like you understand failure." Xiaoyu laughed at her remark as Peter turned towards the door coldly.

Xiao stopped laughing as she saw Peter leaving. Without so much as a second look, Peter was gone. 'I was only kidding with him. I didn't know he'd get so upset.' she thought to herself.

"Failure. I know ALL about that. I'm a failure in everything I do. I failed King, I failed Julia. I failed everybody." Peter said as he worked his way towards the hotel. "What kind of son hires a hitman to watch over his father? I talk like I don't make mistakes. But the truth is, is that I'm an arrogant-"

His words were cutoff as he noticed Marduk walking his way. 'Don't lose your cool, don't lose it!' Peter thought to himself. He looked down at the floor, trying desperately not to lose his temper. Marduk bumped into him as he walked past. Peter looked up in anger, ready to take him down. "Hey, aren't you King's son?" Marduk asked.

"Who wants to know?" Peter replied coldly, causing Marduk to say, "Yeah you're him alright. Any friend of King is my enemy, and that makes you target number two."

"Yeah? Well the target's on my ass. Kiss it." Peter stated.

"Go to hell!" Marduk yelled. Peter leaned closer and replied "I'd tell you to go to hell, but I'd have to give your dumb ass directions." With that, Peter turned away and took off towards the hotel. His breathing was increased heavily increased and he wanted to go back and show Marduk what he was made of. 'Calm down, just calm down. It's over.' Peter thought.

Elsewhere, Starcain lowered his gun. It seems that Marduk will get to live another day. In a flash, the black man was off the roof and on the sidewalk, watching Peter as he walked into the hotel. 'Something…is not right…' he thought to himself.


	15. Monster Duel

This chapter is dedicated to my pals Thunder, Glorious D., and Firebat!

Chapter 14: Monster Duel

This was the day that Peter would have his first match. It was against one of the tournament's veterans, Nina Williams. Peter was so nervous. He would fight against one of the deadliest combatants yet. Most of her opponents didn't exactly walk away without anything to show. Peter was nervous that he would be defeated, and that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his dreams.

As Peter thought about this, Julia Chang, his beloved girlfriend approached him. "So Pete, today is your first match. Are you scared?" she told him. Peter smiled and replied "Well, I'm sure the best person will win."

Julia took a seat next to her lover. "I heard about your outbreak with Xiaoyu." she said quietly, hoping not to offend him.

"What outbreak?" Peter asked. Deep down inside, he knew the answer. He knew exactly what she was talking about. True he had been offended by what Xiaoyu said, but he also knew that he overreacted to it.

'Something is happening to me…' Peter thought to himself. He found that he had problems focusing on people, that he had little patience, and that he became more depressed than ever. What he also realized, was that his fighting skills had increased exponentially. All Peter seemed to think about was destruction. But he would never harm anybody. Or would he?

In his head, Peter saw the flashback of when he killed that street thug to protect King. The more he thought about it, the more he enjoyed it. He had been free, animalistic, and brutal. Something about it made him feel at peace. As ironic as that thought was, Peter didn't seem to care. He only knew what he felt, and what he felt was an ever increasing darkness.

"Pete? You okay?" Julia asked. Peter realized that he had totally blocked her out. Again, he had trouble focusing on people lately. "I'm sorry Julia, I've just been thinking about my match today. I hope that I can win. Say. I happened to catch your match with Sasha again. It was playing on the hotel monitors today. Great job, you really unleashed the power within."

Julia chuckled at his remark, knowing full good and well that she had done excellent. She noticed that Peter seemed to be in his own world and it both scared and hurt her that they had recently become farther apart.

Outside, there was a big commotion. Peter took Julia by the hand, something which caused her heart to skip a beat, and led her outside to see what was going on. "Looks like there is going to be a fight in the front lawn of the hotel." Peter said as the two stepped down onto the grass. "Wonder who's fighting?" Julia asked.

That's when her question was answered. Out of the crowd stepped two grotesque looking fighters. One was Yoshimitsu. He looked like some kind of roach or beetle, insect-like wings sprouting from his back. The other was a newcomer named Ghoul. His appearance was the most disgusting out of the two. His name fit his appearance well. The creature had no flesh at all on him, only raw exposed muscle tissue. Out of his fingers, were the pointy parts of the finger bone. The same was true with his feet.

He wore a trench coat and his eyes bulged out of his head. "Oh my God, how gross!" said Christie as she approached Julia and Peter. The two agreed with her. This is when the announcer began to speak through his microphone.

"This fight will be Ghoul vs. Yoshimitsu! Prepare!"

Suddenly, all of the onlookers and fighters went silent as the announcer said "Fight!"

Ghoul rushed forward with amazing speed, elbowing Yoshimitsu in the chest. Yoshimitsu spun around with his green glowing blade and attempted to slice at Ghoul's neck. This proved useless, as he soon found himself flat on the floor due to an unexpected sweep kick on Ghoul's part. Sitting up in an Indian style, Yoshimitsu began to hit his sword against the floor repeatedly as Ghoul ran forward to attack him. Surprisingly, Yoshimitsu twirled around on the ground and disappeared into thin air. Ghoul stopped in his tracks and looked in front of him.

"How come Yoshimitsu gets a weapon and we don't?" asked Peter as he saw him appear behind Ghoul. Julia shrugged, as did Christie as Ghoul was backhanded to the floor. Yoshimitsu spun around, kicking his opponent three times in the side. Ghoul would not give up so easily, he jumped up to his feet and slashed a wing off of Yoshimitsu's back. Yoshimitsu's scream echoed throughout the entire yard. He jumped into the air and spun his sword around, creating a helicopter-like effect which helped him to levitate.

"Get down here!" cried Ghoul as he attempted to jump up to his opponent. Peter shuddered at the sound of Ghoul's voice. It was dark and fear inducing. That was when Ghoul jumped behind him, picked up a stone, and tossed it at his head. Upon impact, Yoshimitsu fell to the ground, landing abruptly on his back. Ghoul wasted no time. He jumped over to Yoshimitsu, sat on top of him, and began to pummel him with a flurry of punches.

After Ghoul was done, he leaped off of Yoshimitsu and laughed. Poor Yoshimitsu had been defeated. "Uh, K.O.!" yelled a reluctant announcer.

"Well that was an interesting fight." said Julia. To her dismay, Julia realized that Ghoul had heard her. He smiled and walked towards her direction. Peter and Christie gasped as he reached Julia saying, "Well I'm glad you thought so. Care to go for a cup of coffee?" Peter stood in front of her defensively replying, "Hey she's mine. Besides, she's not into zombies." The crowd yelled out as Ghoul grabbed hold of Peter's throat, laughing as Peter choked. Christie and Julia grabbed hold of Ghoul's arms, trying desperately to pry him off of Peter. It was no use.

Peter fell to his knees, choking harder and unable to do anything to get Ghoul off of him. Looking past Ghoul, Peter saw that King was running through the crowd to save him. Peter didn't think he could hold out that long though, and his grip on Ghoul's hands began to slip. Suddenly, the yellow eyes of Ghoul, changed to a brilliant purple. Peter began to feel air enter his lungs as Ghoul's grip loosened. Something was happened to the man in front of him, and he didn't know what…


	16. Looks Can Be Deceiving

This chapter is dedicated to Moontearz! And to Mina, and to Jaime, and DevilBilly and Billy, and Kaori, and Kyo, and Shadowsin, wow that's a lot!

Chapter 15: Looks Can Be Deceiving

Finally, the creature known as Ghoul let go of Peter, much to his delight. As Peter coughed and sucked in as much sweet air as he could, the creature before him began to transform. Seeing that the creature had let Peter go, King knelt down to check his step-son rather than tackle his attacker to the ground.

Ghoul began to grow flesh, his skin being tan in color. Before long, it was as if Ghoul had never existed. Now standing before Peter, King, Julia, and Christie stood a handsome young man. He was decent in height, although not as tall as King. His jet black hair was slicked back behind his head into spikes. He wore a violet dress shirt to match his eyes and he wore dark denim jeans. If he hadn't just been hurting their friend, Julia and Christie would have been drooling by now.

The young man bent down, offering his hand to Peter. King pushed it away as he helped Peter back up to his feet. Reluctantly, the young man apologized and said "My name is Sean Helspiere. I'm very sorry about that. I sometimes can't control Ghoul."

Peter grabbed his throat, massaging it as he asked "What are you, some kind of monster?" Peter's words hurt Sean, and it was obvious. However, Peter did not seem to care, as his attitude was beginning to change. Sean looked into Peter's eyes and replied "Well, you're quick to judge aren't you?"

Peter looked to King with a semi-sympathetic glare. Of all people he knew what it was like to be judged. "Sorry, it's just that…well one minute you're a monster trying to kill me, and the next you're a normal guy apologizing for it."

Sean focused his next statement to all in the group saying "Ghoul took over my body when I was younger. He killed my parents as I slept. I dislike him very much."

"You and me both!" the darker voice of Ghoul said through Sean. It was then that Peter realized just how hard it must have been for Sean. He had to live with an alien entity, constantly fighting for control.

Peter reached his hand out slowly, kicking himself mentally for being so harsh. "I…forgive you." he said. Sean smiled and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Thank you, you don't know how much it means to me."

King turned towards Peter as Julia and Christie smiled at Sean. Peter looked over and said "Well, now that that's over, I'd better go train for my match against Nina later. I'll see you soon." With that, Peter turned away, leaving everybody behind to socialize.

Author's Note: Well, this feels so weird! I haven't done an author's note since….well I don't know! Anyways, Ghoul and Sean Helspiere belong to Glorious Demon over at Tekken Zaibatsu. I know that this chapter sucked but bear with me. The next chapter will be longer and much better because it's when Peter will have to fight Nina! Please review if you get a chance, and I'll be back soon with another update.


	17. Serious Fighters

Okay so, I'm really excited about this chapter because Moontearz gave me permission to use his characters. I worked hard on this chapter. I hope you all like it and don't worry, the story will soon re-focus back to King. Right now, the emphasis is on Peter, but that will soon change. Do I smell death in the air? Hmm….

Chapter 16: Serious Fighters

Peter practiced his kicks and throws. While he felt tired, he felt confident. He knew that to win this fight, he would have to have a good strategy. Taking down Nina Williams, a professional assassin, wouldn't be easy.

"Done." Peter walked over to the nearby oak bench of the park and sat down. Being out in nature reminded him of his late friend Jun Kazama. 'She would have loved it this time of year.' he thought to himself.

Suddenly, sadness struck him. It was almost as if someone had turned on a depressing song, and it was beginning to drag him down. Over the past two years while searching for King, Peter had developed bad mood swings, often going into a depressed state for no apparent reason. This was just like all the others though. He would get over it in a few minutes.

"Are you okay?" a voice uttered. Peter looked up to see a young man, good looking, and probably right around his age. He had a good muscular build and his long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. He wore baggy blue jean shorts, along with a black t-shirt saying 'I'm With The Band'. Peter stood up and offered his hand to the stranger. "I'm fine. My name is Peter." The man shook Peter's hand and replied "My name is Jaime. Jaime Parker."

"Wait a minute…" Peter said. "Is your brother Justin Parker? The Pro Skater!" Jaime nodded with a smile. Peter's face lit up. "Wow! I can't believe it, I'm meeting a famous person!"

"Heh, well I'M not famous, my brother is. And besides, shouldn't I be the one excited to meet YOU?" Jaime taunted. Peter kept his happiness in check and gave Jaime a questioning look. "You're Peter Colón, one of the fighters from last year's tournament! I'm honored to meet you!"

"Well I guess you do have a point…" Peter said, causing the two boys to laugh afterwards. Suddenly, a question came to Peter's mind. "Say, do you know how to skate?" Jaime couldn't help but laugh. After all, how can the brother of a pro skater NOT know how to skate? "Uh sorry, guess that was a stupid question. Do you think you could teach me?"

Jaime smiled upon hearing Peter's request. "Tell you what, you become my sparring partner and I teach you how to skate. Deal?" Peter thought to himself before answering. Then, finally he said "Well I have to fight Nina Williams in an hour. I guess I got some time before I go."

"Alright, well then let's do this." Jaime said as he stood a fair distance from Peter.

Jaime noticed that the peacefulness of the sky reflected his attitude, for he felt completely at ease. He was the first to move. He jumped onto the park bench in front of him and hopped off, whipped towards Peter. Dodging his aerial spin kick, Peter put up his guard. He stepped back and waited for Jaime to do something else, not knowing his opponent well enough to attack.

Jaime launched into a handstand, and Peter took this as a sign to move in. Oh how he regretted it, as Jaime spun in a full 360, kicking him with both legs in the face. He stumbled backwards, trying eagerly not to let anger get the better of him. Peter remembered that from his uncle.

_It is the past now as Peter stands against his uncle, preparing to attack. His uncle throws a punch, Peter blocking it with ease. What came next shocked Peter, as his uncle used his elbow to collide with his nose. Feeling blood begin to drip down his face, Peter runs forward at his uncle, growling as he does so. Without hesitation, his uncle grips his hand around his neck and slams him to the ground saying, "Never attack out of anger."_

Peter snapped back to reality and avoided a roundhouse punch aimed at his midsection. Next, he ducked underneath Jaime's right leg as it came seeking his face. 'No more games.' Peter thought. It was time to attack. Running forward, Peter cart wheeled behind Jaime and ended in a spinning sweep kick, causing Jaime to fall to his backside. The two had begun to attract a crowd now, the park visitors being interested in what was going on.

As Peter backed away, Jaime angrily kicked up to his feet. Peter was highly evasive it seemed, and he noticed that he took no chances, but in a fight, sometimes that's what you have to do. Jaime charged at Peter, ready to attack. Jumping down on one hand, Jaime spun in a half circle, throwing his feet into Peter's shoulder. Peter cried out in pain and lowered his guard. Taking full advantage of the situation, Jaime reached his arms out and held Peter in a headlock. Peter jerked around, struggling to get free.

Then without warning, Peter spun his body around in a full 360, turning his body into a missile and spinning Jaime off of his feet. Landing on his back, Jaime was shocked at the last attack. It takes great strength and agility to do something like that. Jaime suddenly had a newfound respect for his opponent. The onlookers in the park started to consist of other fighters, King, Julia, Christie, Xiaoyu, and Miharu being among them.

Jaime rose to his feet and the two began to circle each other. Side stepping behind a tree, Peter waited for Jaime to come to him. 'He's making this too easy' thought Jaime as he walked calmly up to the tree. Counting to three, Jaime spun around the tree with a low kick, followed by a two punch combo. "!" Jaime was shocked when he realized that his attack went into the empty air. He began to look around frantically.

Just then, a leaf fell down to the ground in front of him. Slowly, he looked up. "Yah!" cried Peter as he flew down towards Jaime with a kick. Catching him off guard, Peter nailed Jaime in the chest, kicking him and then back flipping off of him. Jaime caught himself before hitting the ground, looking towards Peter. He watched as Peter came close, lifting his right leg into the air. Jaime barely rolled out of the way of hell as the heel of Peter's sneaker came crashing down, ready to knick his head.

Jaime rose up and spun around, getting ready to grab Peter's throat. Surprisingly, both Peter and Jaime grabbed onto each other's throats. Slowly, the two let go at the same time. "Well, that was something!" Jaime said as he tried to catch his breath. Peter smiled and nodded, agreeing with him. "So, I guess this means we're equal?" asked Peter as he offered his hand once again. Jaime took it and said "Friends."

An Hour Later

Peter stood in a painful stretch, which didn't seem to bother him much at all. He seemed all the more prepared to fight. His practice earlier with his newfound friend Jaime had taken him to a higher mind level. Hopefully, his fighting skills would move along with it. Peter used to take notes on the many fighters, often plotting out what their weaknesses were. Today, he hoped that his information on Nina Williams would help him to defeat her.

Peter stood in the center of a lab space. Mist shot up from the floor, creating a spooky feeling. He was waiting for his opponent to arrive. She was late. However, women of her mentality often were. In the corners of the room were cameras. The fighters stood in a special room, where they would watch the battle. The fans had a special theater presentation room where they would be safe. Inside of the special room, Jaime stood with his girlfriend Kim Sueng Mina, but all who knew her just referred to her as Mina.

King was also present, and he was nervous. What would happen if his son lost? Nina wasn't exactly the type known to show mercy to her foes. Most likely, she would break bones even after the fight was over. Julia stood nearby, holding her hands together in front of her chest. "Please Peter, stay safe…"

As Peter finished his stretches, the two metallic doors of the laboratory slid open, creating a whizzing sound along with a small breeze. Mist flew out of the opening, like a dog being released into the wild. In came his opponent, Nina. She wore a purple bodysuit, weapon guards being seen. "Are you packing heat or what?" said Peter, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Enough with the small talk. Let's get this over with." replied Nina, her voice sounding cold as usual. "Ooookay then…" Peter said as he stood facing her. The doors slid shut and Peter felt a drop of sweat fall from his forehead. There just went his way out. He was on his own now, and without a referee to or anyone else in the room, he felt as if death was imminent.

On the wall, a red light signified that it was not yet time to fight. Both Peter and Nina stood in their respective stances, waiting for the beginning of the end.

The light shifted from red to green…

Nina moved into action, coming closer to Peter. She threw a three punch combo his way, but he side stepped each and every attack. He had a strategy in mind. He knew that Nina depended heavily on throws, so if he could just stay far enough away from her, she wouldn't get a chance to lay her hands on him. This wouldn't be easy, for she was quick. So Peter would basically stick to a hit-and-run routine, taking her down progressively.

Nina moved towards him again, this time lowering her body into a diagonal spin kick. Peter caught her leg and prepared to throw a punch into her unguarded belly. His plan was changed once she began to reach for his arm. Peter quickly threw her leg aside, making sure that she wouldn't grab hold of him. He felt like the girl in the situation, fearing that his opponent was far stronger. He wasn't going to let that get the best of him however. Quickly, he launched a series of kicks. Nina did her best to dodge the attacks, but fell victim to a few of them. The last kick that Peter threw was caught by her, and she prepared to strike his kneecap when suddenly, Peter dropped to the floor and rolled away.

Slowly, he circled around Nina, looking for an opening to attack. Once he got the chance, he ran in and delivered a punch to the shin, then to the hip. As soon as he hit, he jumped back, doing his best to avoid too much contact. Nina groaned as she held her hip, Peter knew that this was going to take time. Nina charged at him, taking full advantage of her speed. Peter was caught off guard, and Nina grabbed hold of his shoulders. Nina began to reach for his arm, but Peter rammed his knee into her stomach, followed by a kick to the groin area.

Peter knelt down and attempted a sweep kick, but Nina jumped over it. Using this opening, Nina stomped Peter in the side, causing him to wince in pain as she dug her heel into him. Catching her foot, Peter tossed her off her balance and met her with a fierce kick to the back. Nina landed in a heap, but Peter could tell that she was furious. She was already sick of Peter's games. To tell the truth, he was beginning to get tired himself. Rising to her feet, Nina charged him again, this time landed an elbow in his face and a kick to the thigh. Peter let his guard down for a second and this proved to be a mistake as Nina grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and rammed her knee into his stomach.

Peter fell to his knee, groaning in pain. Nina smiled before kicking him in the face, sending him to his back. He exhaled loudly, doing a half sit-up to feel his stomach.

"Finished already? Please!" said Nina as she made a gesture into the air. Back in the room, Jaime and King yelled for him to get up. Almost as if he heard them, Peter hopped to his feet and charged Nina this time at full speed, chopping the side of her neck. She moaned out and slouched over, giving Peter enough time to kick her down.

She wasn't finished yet, for she pulled on Peter's leg until he fell to his back. From there, Nina slipped underneath his leg and started to twist it. Peter yelled out, but retaliated with a punch to the face. Nina let go and he quickly stood up, avoiding her deadly grasp. Peter thought of his own attack. He grabbed hold of Nina's feet and flipped her onto her stomach. Then, Peter stepped on the center of her back and pushed, causing her to moan out in pain, at the same time he pulled on her legs. The count began to start and Nina couldn't get out of the grip. Just when the count reached six, she used a spin to throw Peter off balance and kicked his shins. He fell to his knees and looked as if he would lose. All this was an act however and as Nina ran forward to attack him, Peter rose up and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up, and throwing her over his shoulder.

Nina hit the floor like a brick. The sound of her exhaling was like music to Peter's ears. She fell unconscious. The light went back over to red and the doors slid open. In came the paramedics and a tournament official, congratulating him on his victory. Peter collapsed to his knees, this caused a paramedic to come over to him. "I'm fine." he said. Slowly and with the help of the paramedic, he rose to his feet. Walking out of the lab, Peter began to feel sorry for what he did to Nina. But after all, it was a fighting tournament. As soon as he walked out, King greeted him as well as Julia. He hugged the two and smiled. "I almost lost back there. It felt so weird."

Jaime arrived as well saying, "So I guess you've earned some skating time. After you rest of course." Just as he finished speaking, a young woman around his age walked past him. She had black hair up to her mid back and in her hair, were blood red streaks mixed in. She had small eyes and by Peter's guess, she had to be Korean. "Hi!" she said with a beautiful smile. Peter had to admit that she was beautiful. Julia saw his reaction to her and out of worry, began to walk away.

"Julia!" he called after her. Faking a smile, she turned back around. "It's okay Pete, you deserve some time alone." After saying this, she left, leaving Peter to wonder what was wrong. He would find out later. He turned his attention back to Jaime and the beautiful woman. She spoke again, much to Peter's delight. "My name is Mina. I'm Jaime's girlfriend. I'll be fighting yours tomorrow. You two make such a good couple." Peter blushed as she offered her hand.

Peter shook it gently, afraid to ruin her pretty hands. "It's nice to meet you. You're a fighter too?" Mina smiled and curtsied. "That I am." she said. King watched on and noticed that Peter had seemed different. But it wasn't just now, it was lately in general. Maybe it was time for a talk. King decided to interrupt. "Hey Pete, Marduk is fighting a guy named Vincent DeMarco tomorrow. Will you come with me for moral support. Peter smiled and replied "Sure!" Deep down inside, he knew that he wanted King to stay away, but hey, he didn't own the man.

Peter knew that soon, he would have to talk to Starcain and ask him for information. Not only that, but he had to pay him as well. King left after waving goodbye and so Peter decided that he would get to know his two friends better. "So guys, want to go hang out at that new mall that opened up around here?" he asked. Mina's eyes lit up and Jaime laughed replying, "Definitely, it would give us a chance to get to know each other better."

Author's Note": Okay peeps, I'm so tired! That chapter really took a lot out of me but I've never had more fun writing it! Oh and Nina fans please don't be mad at meL I will update as soon as I can and thank you Moontearz for letting me explore your characters! I just realized how hard it is to write about so many different characters! The story is supposed to be written about the adventures of King, Peter, and Julia, but now I have the honor of writing Jaime and Mina! This is good because it gives me fresh new ideas and new concepts that I can bring to the table. Also, Starcain is a side character as well as other fanfic cameos such as Ghoul and Sean Helspiere. Then of course there were some original character appearances like Sasha Abhaya, and guest characters like Dead Or Alive's Lei-Fang. I wanted to write about Christie and Steve, but that would be too many. If you notice earlier, Christie seemed to have a lot of focus, but then she kind of disappeared into the cast. Hopefully I can get another chapter out about her but I have to give King and Julia some attention first. Review if you can and I'll see you all later!


	18. Sinful Request

Okay, so my story is beginning to come along. My first Untold Story came out to 20 chapters, so I'm shooting for at LEAST 20 chapters here. Sorry, another short chapter, but I had to get something out. The plot thickens a bit here and I'm getting excited hope you are too, tell me what you guys think!

Chapter 17: Sinful Request

King paced back and forth in the lobby. In just a few minutes, his rival Marduk would be having his next fight. The fight was against a newcomer named Vincent DeMarco. Nobody had ever heard of the guy, but King still prayed for him in any case. It was never a good thing when an opponent was smooshed into the earth.

He was waiting for Peter. For some reason, even though he had told Peter that he wouldn't, King's desire to kill Marduk had risen to a new horizon. There was no stopping him now, not even another good pep talk from his step-son. If asked, of course he would just yes Peter to death, but inside he knew what he had to do. Marduk had to die so that Armor King could rest in peace.

As King ponders these thoughts, Peter arrives, coming out of the nearby elevator. Later on would be the fight between Mina and Julia. Peter was excited, but he didn't know exactly why. There was something wrong with him, he swore it, but he just couldn't put his finger down on it. Maybe it would come along soon, who knows?

"Hey King, are you ready to go watch the fight?" Peter asked, nudging his step-father's arm. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Besides, I have to know what I'm up against." he replied. The two began to walk outside towards the ring that the fight would be taking place in. King burned with anger and vengeance, while Peter held in his pain. He knew what he would do if Marduk got too close.

In a way, Peter would be responsible for Marduk's death, since he would be the one to give the order. Starcain, Peter's bodyguard watched on from a discreet location. He was wondering what the outcome of Marduk's match would be as well.

There he was. The beast that they call Marduk. He walked around the caged ring, ready to pounce just like a jungle cat. Vincent was nowhere to be seen but then again, Marduk was a little bit early. He was looking forward to this, looking forward to snap his opponent like a twig.

"Don't be nervous King, remember you're not even in the ring." Peter said. King nodded in silent agreement. He was so caught up in the moment, he didn't even know what to say. He felt like the slightest slip up on the part of Marduk would lead to death. He was so angry, the way Peter had been angry two years ago, or did King really know him? Sure, he was his step-son but he was still new to him. He hadn't seen him for two years, the last time being his untimely death.

"Don't be so tense." Peter said as he noticed King was beginning to get warmer. King exhaled, he'd never been so angry in all his life. That's when Vincent walked into the arena. He was an older man, of maybe about fifty. Despite his age, he still maintained a red head full of hair, the style being spikes. He wore a black and blue karate uniform. Of course, he was a black belt, would it be any other way?

Marduk looked at Vincent and laughed. "Old man, you're goin' down!"

Marduk looked through the audience and saw King. His look went from amusement to ultimate displeasure. King returned the icy stare, growling silently. Peter looked back and forth at the two men and decided that he had enough. Standing in front of King, he greeted Marduk with his middle finger. Marduk kicked the cage and roared like a barbarian. Although he did not show it, this scared Peter.

Turning back to King, Peter took hold of his shoulders and said "Try not to let him get to you. He's not worth your time." King barely heard his son's words. He was so intent on seeing how this match would turn out. Back in the ring, Marduk told off the referee and yelled for the match to begin. Vincent never said a word. King thought that the man must have retained a strong code of honor and respect. Too bad Marduk didn't share his same views.

The crowd yelled and cheered for mostly Vincent. After hearing that Armor King was killed by Marduk, people tended not to like the mammoth man. Silence struck the area as the match was about to begin. Both Vincent and Marduk got into their stances, ready for the fight to be unleashed.

"Fight!"

Vincent moved first, coming at Marduk with a flurry of kicks. Marduk didn't even seem to be phased by them as he pushed both legs aside and rammed Vincent in the chest with a punch. Vincent flew back and landed on one knee. Clearly Marduk had more strength than the smaller man. But Vincent had one ally on his side: Speed. The man was quite fast and obviously could stand pain, as he was up on his feet in a second ready to defend himself again.

Marduk laughed as he kicked at him. Vincent caught his foot and attempted to threw him off balance, but Marduk planted himself into the ground like a deadweight. He obviously wasn't going anywhere. That's when his hand traveled across Vincent's face, knocking him to the ground. Vincent let out a cry as Marduk stomped on his backside, preventing him from getting up.

Vincent rolled with the blows and rose to his feet again, proving to be endurable and tolerant of pain. Launching himself into a front flip, Vincent kicked Marduk in the jaw with his right leg. Marduk turned his head and laughed. "Is that all you've got?" he said as he marched towards Vincent. Trying desperately not to get put into a corner, Vincent ran around in circles. Marduk seemed to be enjoying his game. To him it was like a fine hunt.

Gathering up some courage, Vincent ran in to Marduk and kicked him in the ribcage. Marduk groaned for a second, but retaliated with a firm punch to the face. Vincent hit the floor, wondering whether or not to get up after that last hit. He was in pain and he didn't think he could win. Marduk laughed as he hopped on top of Vincent and began to pound his face and chest with punches. Each hit felt like a truck was hitting him, and unfortunately for him, he passed out in a matter of seconds.

Marduk rose to his feet and thrashed about like a wild man. Paramedics rushed in to help Vincent as Marduk admired his handiwork. King roared in anger, causing Peter to become worried that he would have to do something. No matter what, he would protect his friend and father. He couldn't let him down now. Seeing King's angry reaction, Marduk pointed to him in a "you're next" like manner. King, too angry to stick around, turned away and exited the area. His murderous plans were set in stone, and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

Peter was about to go watch the fight between Mina and Julia, but he decided that it was time. Picking up his cell phone, he called an unknown number.

"Starcain, it's me. Now. I want you to do it. I want you to kill Marduk…"


	19. Getting Help

Okay, so I'm getting closer to closing this story. I'll take a brief break, but then I'll start my next one. This chapter is dedicated to Thunderxtw and Moontearz because they inspired me to unleash my creativity!

Chapter 18: Getting Help

The black man stood behind the hotel's gym. He listened to Peter's message. "I want you to kill Marduk…" The words echoed in Starcain's mind. It was time to finally end this game. No more fooling around, it was time to prevent Marduk from hurting King, or anybody else for that matter. Starcain cocked his shotgun as he made way towards the location of Marduk.

Elsewhere, King pushed open his room door violently. He was sick and tired of seeing innocent people being hurt by Marduk. Sure it was a fighting tournament, but Marduk was so violent with his opponents. He treated them without respect, often taunting them as he beat them senseless. "Soon, I'll be the one making jokes. I'll be the one doing the beating!" said King as he slammed his fist against the wall.

Julia Chang fixed herself up in the mirror of her room as she prepared for battle. Attaching her feathered earring to her left ear, she heard a knock on her door. Finishing what she was doing, Julia turned and walked over to the door. She looked out of the peephole on the door and realized that it was Peter. Right away she smiled. She felt neglected by her boyfriend, and now he was coming to her.

Happily, she opened the door with a smile. "Hey Pete!" Peter looked up at her slowly, forcing a smile. "What's wrong?" Julia asked. Peter looked back down, his eyes a bit teary. Julia didn't feel very comfortable with this uncomfortable silence looming in the air. "Come in." she said, holding the door open for Peter. Frowning, Peter walked past Julia into her room and sat on her bed.

After closing the door, Julia turned and sat on the floor in front of Peter. It was a good two minutes before anybody said anything, but Peter finally broke the silence. "Julia, I think I've made a horrible mistake…" Another thirty seconds of silence passed before he continued. "Remember that guy I told you about, the one who I hired to watch over King?" Julia looked up into her lover's eyes and nodded, fearing what he might say.

"I told him to…" he said. He looked into Julia's eyes, tears swelling up in his own. "I had to do it Julia."

Knock knock knock! Both Peter and Julia spun around at the sound of someone knocking at the door. "Julia! It's me Mina! I was just coming to pick you up for the fight!"

Peter wiped his tears out of his eyes and faked a smile. "We can talk after your fight okay?" he said as he stood up. Unsure of herself, Julia stood up and said "Are you sure? If you need to talk then I can be late." Peter wouldn't have it. "No Jules, don't do that. Who knows, they might disqualify you. Then who would we depend on to reforest your homeland?" Peter smiled at his girlfriend, causing her to forget about all her worries. With confidence, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Okay, so let's go see if all our training paid off!" Peter said as he followed Julia to her door. After opening the door, Julia smiled at Mina. Mina was kind of shocked to see Peter there as well, but she welcomed him with a friendly smile anyway. It had been just a few days since Peter and Julia met Jaime and Mina, but already they felt like close friends.

"Let's go do this girl! Are you nervous?" Mina said as she locked arms with Julia and took off down the hallway, Peter following in tow. Julia could do nothing but laugh her nervousness away. She was of course nervous. She was facing an opponent whom she'd not had the chance to study up on. All she knew was that Mina used some form of dance in her fighting style. Together, the three friends were heading to the mall nearby. This is where the fight would take place.

Starcain watched as Marduk walked along the sidewalk. He hid behind a few bushes as he set his target on Marduk's forehead. This was it. To prevent Marduk from getting any farther in the tournament, this had to be done. Peter had excellent timing. Starcain did some research and he found out that Marduk's next match was indeed against King. 'Alright, here we go.' Starcain thought to himself. 'You're finished!' He tightened his finger on the trigger and suddenly everything went black, Starcain could hear the shot ring out, as well as the screams of all in the area.

Julia stood in front of her new friend Mina. She wore her traditional Native American fighting outfit as Mina stuck to a black tube top with black jeans. Mina ran her right hand through her hair, the red streaks falling gently through her fingers. Techno music began to blast through the speakers of the underground arena, causing Mina to shake her hips as she smiled. Julia could feel her blood pumping to the beat. It was time to get this over with.

The two women walked a fair distance away from each other and got into their stances. The referee walked into the center and explained the rules for them. The two exchanged friendly glances as they prepared to battle. After he was done, the referee walked away and prepared to say his famous trademark line. Then, the moment hit the two girls like a punch in the face.

"Fight!"

Mina moved first, bringing her right foot up to Julia's face. Ever ready, Julia blocked the attack and countered with one of her own. She launched her right fist into Mina's chest. Staggering backwards, Mina forced herself into action. She grabbed Julia around the waist and used her other hand to grab Julia's. Extending both their arms before her, Mina swung up her arm up and then down violently, causing Julia to flip over, hitting the ground on her back. This was Mina's 'Deadly Tango' move. Julia spun around and kicked at Mina's ankles, but she was already expecting this. Mina jumped up over Julia's leg and retaliated with a roundhouse kick and punch to Julia's side. This was her '1, 2 Step' move.

Julia groaned as she backed away from her opponent. Then, anger flushed through her body and she suddenly attacked. Using her patented 'Lashing Arrow' move, Julia jumped forward, using her fist as a deadly arrow. Mina couldn't react fast enough and she was unfortunately thrown off her feet. She landed on her backside and looked up to see Julia coming down at her with a strong kick. Rolling out of the way, Mina stood up as fast as she could. Some jerk from the crowd pushed Mina forward towards Julia, who was waiting with a fist ready. Using her momentum, Mina went into three fast spins, ending with an axe kick which hit Julia across the chest. This was her 'A-Town Stomp' attack.

Julia stepped sideways, throwing herself into the air with two kicks. Both kicks hit Mina in the face, stunning her. Julia followed up with a kick to Mina's stomach. Mina coughed for air as she did a back hand spring to give herself some room. Then she came up with a plan. She was going to use her 'Death Ballet' move. Most times, fighters were instantly K.O.'ed by this attack. If she timed it right, then she could win. She twirled around and around in a ballet-like stance. Before long, she was spinning rapidly, waiting for Julia to come after her. Julia saw this as a chance to attack, not knowing that she was doing everything Mina had hoped for.

Screaming, Julia jumped forward to attack Mina. Mina saw this and as Julia came in front of her, she let her right leg fly loose into Julia's temple. "Arghhh!" Julia cried out as she spun in spirals to the ground. Mina had won. "K.O.!" the announcer yelled, raising Mina's arm into the air. Another victory. Mina was now closer to winning the tournament. Her only fear was that she would eventually have to face her boyfriend in combat. She was not looking forward to this at all. 'Better not worry about it now!' Mina thought as she walked over to Julia and helped her up.

"Excuse me? Can we get an ice pack for my friend?" Mina said as she gently touched the bump on Julia's head. Julia frowned saying, "I really should have studied up on you Mina. You're tougher than you look by far." Mina laughed as she received the ice pack, placing it on her friend's temple. "Don't worry. You'll have another chance next tournament!"

Julia was disappointed, but she would live on. Peter had told her that if he won, he would help fund her research. King said the same, as did Xiaoyu, so her dream wasn't necessarily over yet. Peter pushed past all the crowd members and ran to Julia saying, "Are you okay!" Julia laughed and replied "Don't worry Pete, I'm fine, just really REALLY dizzy!" Seeing that his girlfriend was okay, he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Suddenly, his cell phone went off.

Looking down at the caller ID, he realized that it was Starcain. Quickly, he excused himself and went to a more quiet area. "It's done?" Peter asked as his heart raced. Starcain answered in a grave voice.

"I couldn't do it."

"What! Why not!" Peter yelled into the phone, causing some bystanders to look his way.

"I've killed a lot of people in my life. But it's time for me to stop. I have to choose a new life. I couldn't kill another man in cold blood." Starcain said. Peter was outraged.

"Look, this is what I'm paying you to do! How could you decide this so suddenly! What am I supposed to do!" Peter yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this. I think you should try to bust him, get him arrested. Catch him doing something wrong. Lei-Wulong can help with that." Starcain said.

"Forget it. I'll send you your last check." Peter hung up his phone and threw it against the wall. Several people looked his way, causing him to ask "Is there something I can do for you folks!" They all looked away. Peter knew what he had to do. He couldn't let his father and best-friend be bloody guilty. He had to do this on his own, without any help.

A few minutes later, Marduk stood in the empty Rec Room. He sighed as he changed through the channels, looking desperately for something to catch his interest. Nothing. Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing Peter wearing an outfit of all black. Marduk laughed saying, "What, just finished watching The Matrix?" That's when Peter pulled a knife on Marduk saying, "He wasn't strong enough to do it, but I'm determined. Tonight, you will die."

Author's Note: So what did you guys think? I tried to put a lot of suspense into the chapter but I don't know how well it came out. The story is nearing it's final chapter, but so far, this story had been one fun ride for me. Review please:)


	20. Murder Comes In All Sizes

Chapter 19: Murder Comes In All Sizes

Peter held the knife close to Marduk's throat. "I found out about your plan Marduk. You were going to beat me up in an attempt to anger King. But I won't let that happen. Consider this self-defense."

Marduk had to laugh. The kid found out and now he had the guts to rise up? This was going to be interesting. "You're smart, I'll give you that. But come on now, do you really need a knife to act tough? We both know you don't have the guts."

Peter fixed his position and shoved the knife against Marduk's neck. He could feel the knife grazing his skin. Anger took over as Peter said, "You don't know me."

Marduk smiled and then suddenly, he grabbed hold of Peter's wrist. Peter yelled out in pain as Marduk pushed him against the wall, holding his wrist and grabbing his throat with his other hand. He slammed Peter's hand against the wall, causing him to drop the knife to the floor. "This is gonna be fun." Marduk said.

Peter rammed his knee into Marduk's groin, causing him to yell as he let him go. Pushing Marduk across the pool table, Peter grabbed a cue stick. Twirling it in the air, Peter yelled out as he broke the stick over Marduk's head. Becoming enraged, Marduk turned and kicked Peter in the stomach. He lay on the floor for a brief second, but rose to his feet once again. Peter jumped into the air and connected his foot with Marduk's jaw.

Next, he lowered to the ground and caught Marduk's legs in between his own. Turning his legs over, Peter knocked his opponent to the floor. Wasting no time, Peter jumped on his back and wrapped his arm around Marduk's thick neck. Marduk laughed, "It's gonna take a whole lot more than that to beat me!" With that, he rolled to his back, rolling over Peter and nearly crushing him under his weight.

Rising to his feet, Marduk looked as Peter moaned in pain. It wasn't over yet. He grabbed Peter around the throat and picked him up into the air. Peter began to choke and cough as Marduk tightened his grip. Suddenly, Peter grabbed his attacker's head in between his feet and turned over, making Marduk fall to the floor and release him. Peter rolled away and caught his breath. He was tired already, but he wouldn't give up. King's life was at sake.

"Yaaahhh!" Peter cried out as he kicked Marduk across the face, sending him crashing into the television. As Marduk rose to his feet, Peter picked up a lazy chair nearby. Using all of his energy, he threw the heavy chair at Marduk, who caught it with ease. Drops of sweat fell from Peter's brow as he thought of what to do. Getting into his stance, Peter waited for Marduk to move. That's when his attacker charged at him like a bull after a red flag.

Unsure of what to do, Peter was tackled by Marduk in an instant. Peter immediately blocked his face as Marduk raised his fists. Playing around, Marduk began to pummel Peter with his giant fists, each blow weakening Peter all the more so. Looking to his right, Peter noticed Marduk's bottle of beer. He grabbed it and shattered it over Marduk's head, the contents of the bottle spilling down on him. Using this distraction to his advantage, Peter got his right leg free and kicked Marduk in the face.

'This is crazy!' Peter thought as he rose to his feet. Marduk was a beast, for he roared like a crazy person and stood up. Jumping forward, Marduk punched Peter against the wall behind him and grabbed hold of his shirt. Peter kicked at Marduk's feet and fell to the floor, his attacker still holding on to his shirt. Up ahead, Peter could see the knife. Reaching for it, he groaned in pain as Marduk bit down on his side. Finally, he grabbed the knife and turned over, slashing Marduk in the head as he did so.

Marduk let go and Peter jumped up to his feet, pulling back his hand and preparing to deliver the final blow. Launching his arm forward, Peter was shocked to find out that he missed. Swinging again at his opponent, Peter yelled in rage and fury. "Die already!" he yelled as he threw the knife at Marduk's head. Marduk ducked out of the way and moved forward to attack him. Seeing this, Peter jumped forward and kicked Marduk in the chin, satisfied with the effect it caused. Marduk looked away as he held his jaw, allowing Peter to punch him in the ribcage. Doubling over, Marduk was surprised with a knee to the forehead.

From his lowered position, Marduk tackled Peter against the wall. Doing everything he could to break free, Peter kneed at Marduk's face. He let go of him, but coming back with a punch. Peter nearly dodged out of the way as Marduk's hand crashing into the light switch board, destroying the light in the room. As the room flashed out, Peter snuck behind the pool table next to him and tossed it over onto Marduk. Moving towards the shades, Marduk cursed at Peter for having been so sneaky. Under normal circumstances, Peter should have been done by now, but he was putting up such a fight.

As he opened the shades, the moonlight poured into the room, giving Marduk a perfect view of Peter as he kicked Marduk in the stomach. Marduk grunted and picked Peter up over his head. Without hesitation, he tossed Peter against the wall, smiling as Peter went from the upper wall to the counter of the mini-bar. The force of his landing made Peter roll off the counter onto the chair beneath him. Like nothing, the chair snapped under his weight. Peter hit the ground and let out a muffled cry. In his eyes were tears of pain. Marduk smiled at this as kicked his young opponent in the face.

Peter rolled over and rose to his feet, yelling for help as Marduk kicked him against the counter of the mini-bar. Turning around, Peter grabbed onto whatever glass he could and threw it Marduk's way. Marduk groaned as the glass cut into his skin, angering him even more. Without delay, Peter rolled underneath Marduk's open legs and delivered a stomp to his groin with both feet. Marduk yelled in pain as Peter kicked him from behind.

Picking up a wooden leg from one of the chairs, Peter attacked Marduk by hitting him across the head with it. Marduk roared as he spun around and grabbed Peter by the throat, laughing silently as his opponent gasped for air. He backed Peter up against the wall again and used both his monstrous hands to choke him. Peter reached forward and grabbed Marduk's head in his hands. Going for the eyes, Peter dug his thumbs into them as hard as he could. Marduk let go reluctantly, allowing Peter to jump into the air, performing a full 360 spin before kicking him in the face.

Marduk flew to the other side of the room and grunted as Peter ran forward and chopped the side of his neck. Dropping to his knees, Peter punched Marduk in the stomach. Marduk kicked forward, pushing Peter over to his side. Peter yelled increasingly louder as Marduk kicked progressively harder into his side. Then, picking him up, Marduk threw Peter across the room, causing him to smack against the glass sliding door.

Peter slowly slumped down the now cracked glass door, beginning to feel dizzy. Marduk laughed as he thought of what to do next. He picked his opponent up so that he was half standing against the glass sliding doors and kicked as hard as he could, sending Peter flying through the glass and onto the cement pavement of the outdoor sidewalk. Marduk wasted no time in jumping on top of Peter. He ignored the glass cutting into his legs as best he could as he slammed Peter's head down against the ground.

Peter screamed as he pushed Marduk with all of his might, getting on top of him instead. Then, he threw his fists into the sides of Marduk's already bruised face. Marduk pushed Peter off of him and rose to his feet once more. Peter stood back, bleeding from his face and nose as he prepared to attack again. Spinning around, he kicked at Marduk's face. Marduk caught his foot like it was a fly and pushed him back against a tree. Peter barely dodged the punch meant for him as Marduk crashed his fist into the harsh bark of the oak tree. Peter cart wheeled past Marduk, kicking him in the face and spinning around with a punch to the chest.

The night air caressed Peter's face, trying to ease his pain as he cried softly. The last time Peter cried like this was months ago, when he found out that his friend Armor King was murdered by this same man, if you could call him that. Peter spit out a fair amount of blood as Marduk punched him across the face with his right fist, then his left. Suddenly, the world around Peter started to get dark and fuzzy. He staggered backwards and begged for mercy. "…Stop…" he managed to say as Marduk laughed at him.

Marduk jumped on top of Peter once again and began to punch his face with his fists, as the young man pleaded for his life. Marduk did not plan on stopping anytime soon. That's when Peter slipped away from the world, in a deep sleep. Now he could rest, somebody else would have to save the day this time around. Marduk continued to pound on Peter's face when suddenly, an arrow grazed across the back of his leg and dug into the ground.

Turning around in shock, he saw that it was Jaime Parker, the newcomer, holding a crossbow.

"Get the hell away from him. Now!" Jaime yelled out. Marduk jumped to his feet and took off towards the main area of the hotel. After he was gone, Jaime quickly rushed over to his new friend's side. He felt for a pulse…

_Peter looked on as his mother hugged him. "It's okay." she said. "You're safe now. You've done enough good deeds in this world. Now come home, and rest with me."_

_Peter let tears fall from his eyes as he brushed the hair away from his mother's beautiful face. _

"_Mom…is it over? Have I failed?" Peter said. The beautiful woman in front of him smiled and replied "You have succeeded in what matters most, and now it is time for you to rest."_

"_Mom, I have a question. Did…did my life mean anything? Did I do any good for King?" he asked._

_His mother looked into his eyes and said "Your guardian have served you well, as you to him. He will be well rewarded for his kind heart."_

"_But mom-"_

"_You will never be forgotten my beloved."_

_Peter smiled slowly and ceased his tears. "Okay, I'm ready." His mother smiled as she reached her hand forward. "Take my hand dear, let me guide you away from this dark place." Light began to form and Peter felt an overwhelming rush of happiness and peace. He reached for his mother's hand slowly, feeling ever more confident as he did so. The light began to grow in intensity, as he grabbed hold of his mother._

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The doctor shoved King out of the room. He yelled out as Julia grabbed hold of his waist and cried like she had never did before.

"Hurry, we're losing him!" the doctor said as he and the nurses surrounded Peter's broken body.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeppppp.


	21. Flashbacks

Just wanted to say thanks to all who keep up with me, it really means a lot. Thanks to Thunderxtw, Moontearz, and everybody else.

Chapter 20: Flashbacks

King gasped in shock. "…no…" He looked down to his hands and he swore he could see Peter's blood reappear on them. Flashbacks of Peter's previous death pushed through his head. 'It can't be…it just can't…' he thought to himself. Julia slumped down the wall slowly as the doctor got ready to shock Peter's heart.

_Peter opened his eyes after the white light died down. His mother let go of his hand and looked back. She sighed as she touched her son's face. "Rest, is something you deserve…"_

"Clear!" yelled the doctor as he delivered an electromagnetic shock to Peter's system.

"…_but it would seem that perhaps…rest isn't needed now." said Peter's mother. Peter looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" he said as the atmosphere began to get dark again._

"Clear!" Shock two. King looked over to Julia who was being held by Mina. Jaime stood behind the glass and watched in disbelief. His head was tipped down, as if bowing in respect to Peter.

"_It would seem that the world is your calling for now." Peter's mother said as she smiled. She wrapped her arms around her son one last time and said "goodbye. I'll be waiting for you." Just as she let go, Peter was about to ask her what was going on. Suddenly, the white floor shattered like glass and Peter fell into the pitched blackness. "Mom!" he yelled as he fell deep into the abyss._

"Clear!" yelled the doctor as he charged more electricity into Peter's body. Almost as if on cue, Peter's eyes burst open as he sat up in his bed. As he stared at the ceiling, color began to reappear into his skin, returning to its naturally tan shade. King's eyes widened in shock as he looked over to Julia. He watched as she jumped to her feet and screamed in shock.

Falling back down into his bed, Peter looked around at his surroundings; bright lights, white walls, nurses and a doctor standing over him. King rushed over to Peter's side and took a good look, making sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Peter looked around innocently, first from the ceiling, to the doctor, and then to King. All in that one moment, he remembered what had happened.

He had heard from Steve that Marduk was going to beat him up, all in an attempt to anger King. He remembered that he got gutsy and tried to take Marduk out all on his own, and quite frankly, he remembered getting his rear end handed to him. King's eyes got teary as Peter smiled up at him slowly. Without regard to Peter's bodily injuries, King embraced his step-son, holding on to him as if his life depended on it.

"Dad…" Peter said. King gasped mentally, that was the second time that Peter referred to him as being his father. "Hey I know you're happy to see me breathing again big guy, but if you hold on to me tight enough, you might change that." Peter said playfully, although pain was visible in his voice. King let go, looking down at Peter apologetically. "I thought I was going to lose you forever, just like Armor King." King's voice cracked with that last statement. He felt as if he would give way to tears, but this was a happy occasion.

King stepped out of the way and allowed Julia to see her boyfriend. "Peter…oh thank God!" she yelled as she embraced him softly. Jaime and Mina stepped back and watched as the 'family' reunited. It was quite touching to Jaime, despite his ultra manliness. In addition to making him happy, the scene before him made Jaime very sad. He missed his own parents, and the sight of King and Peter together made him remember everything; the attack, everything.

Mina gently rubbed up against Jaime's arm. "You okay?" Jaime smiled back to Mina and nodded. "I will be."

King watched on as Julia held Peter. Tears flowed down the both of their cheeks, connecting in some sad way, like the soul mates that they were. Though King was happy to see his son alive again, he had an important question to ask him. "Pete." He said. Julia stood up and backed away, letting the grip of Peter's hand fall slowly. King moved forward, ready to ask what he wanted.

"Who did this to you?" Just then, Miharu, Xiaoyu, and Christie walked into the waiting area with Jaime and Mina. Mina nudged Jaime's arm and said "You should tell him." Jaime looked to Miharu and the others and replied "That's up to Peter." Sensing it was his cue, he left with Mina, the others following them to ask what happened. Julia held on to her chest, afraid of what the answer would be.

Peter said nothing. He just looked up slowly to his father. His eyes said it all, and King didn't like the answer one bit. "Rwaarrrrr…I knew it! Marduk is a dead man!" Peter looked away, shame crossing his Latin features. Julia gasped briefly, and then she took off quickly to tell the others. King shook with rage, scaring the doctor and the nurses around the table.

"Calm down…please." Peter said as he looked back in King's general direction. "Calm down! What if he had really killed you? He did this all to get to me! If it's a fight he wants, then it's a fight he'll get…" Turning around, King began to plot what he would do next. He would have made a fatal mistake, but he felt a hand grab onto his wrist. He turned around to see that it was Peter.

"Don't let me." He said in an almost pleading tone. King closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Of course." King said. His plan would have to wait. Right now, his responsibility was to his son.


	22. The Beginnings of Revenge

Chapter 21: The Beginnings of Revenge

King looked on as Peter slept, snoring slightly. He never realized just how fragile a young boy could be, with his face swollen from punches and his ribs wrapped from pain. Julia sat outside, letting King have his moment with his stepson. She was good, he had to admit. She never was selfish, never demanding personal time with Peter. After all, she was his girlfriend. She let King have all the time he wanted, understanding 100 the situation at hand.

What worried her the most was the fact that she had no idea what King would do. She, like Peter, knew that King wasn't exactly in his best state of mind. He could try anything at any time, all in an attempt to get revenge against Marduk. Julia cared about Peter more than any other girl in the world, and she knew that the last thing he needed was to see his stepfather locked up behind bars.

Just then, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see King, looking at her with a fake smile on his face. "How is he?" she asked in honest concern. King decided to take a seat next to her before replying, "He is okay considering the circumstances. He's strong and you're lucky to be with him."

"You're lucky to have him as a son." Julia said, smiling at him with genuine kindness. Julia had a heart like no other. She cared for all, even those who made fun of her. She just wanted a better world for everybody, wishing the best for the world's greenery. Some would call her a 'tree hugger', but she would simply tell you that she was just being realistic.

"So… what are you going to do?" Julia asked, desperation almost leaking from her tongue. King stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Well now that Pete is asleep, I figured I'd go talk to Marduk…alone." He began to walk away from the hospital room when just then, Julia jumped grabbed his wrist. He turned around in shock, wondering what she was thinking. "Be careful…"she said. The two looked into each other's eyes, and that's when they both realized that there was something behind those eyes: desire.

They gripped each other's hands, looking deeper, looking for a way to calm and reassure one another. It was a good ten seconds before King looked away, dropping Julia's hand. "I will." He said. As King turned to leave, Julia looked to Peter's room, tears swelling up in her eyes. 'I'm sorry', she thought.

"And don't worry." Said King, catching Julia's attention once more. "I won't do anything to harm any of us." Julia smiled at his remark, cupping her mouth with both hands as he left the hospital wing.

Elsewhere, Jaime walked with Mina in the shadows, following King as he went to the bar area of the hotel. King knew just where to look, as Marduk was sitting there all smug and confident as he sipped down a beer. King sat down next to Marduk, unknown to the humongous beast. "I'll take a Corona please." King said. It was then that Marduk looked over to see King sitting there.

"Well, look who it is." Marduk said, breaking out into a soft laughter. King received his beer and began to gulp it down fiercely. "Hey, how's Peter doing?" Marduk taunted. With that, King put down his mug, having finished the beer. Out of nowhere, Marduk felt King's fist crash into his face, knocking him off his chair and sending him to the floor.

"I'll see you at the tournament." King said as he began to take his leave. Jaime and Mina walked up to Marduk once King was gone.

"And if you ever, EVER touch one of my friends again, you won't be around to make the same mistake twice." Said Jaime as Mina leaned against his arm protectively. The two began to leave, leaving Marduk to sit on the floor in embarrassment as the onlookers laughed at him.


	23. Training Practice

**Surprise for Thunderxtw in this chapter! The story is nearing its end, and I hope I can make it good!**

**Chapter 22: Training Practice**

"**Can we have your attention please? This announcement is to notify all fighters that Peter Colón has been taken out of the tournament due to medical injuries." Said Heihachi as he held a microphone. Some of the fighters gasped in shock, others laughed.**

**Elsewhere, King's fist landed against the red punching bag, creating small ripples of force. He was angry, and he felt as if nothing could stop him. 'Marduk will pay for this' he thought to himself. He was upset because Marduk could not be disqualified. He thought back to Lei Wulong's words…**

"**_Listen, I'm really sorry about Peter I really am. But Peter came at Marduk first with a knife. He could go to jail for this but the fact that he was beaten so badly lets him off the hook." Said detective Lei Wulong. King growled with anger as he replied, "Marduk was going to attack him first!"_**

"**_I'm sorry, I believe you and all…but there is no proof of him having any intent-" His words were violently cut off. "HE WAS GOING TO ATTACK MY SON TO GET TO ME! I don't know why I came to you. I thought you would understand, but I guess I was wrong." With that, King took off down the hall and towards the gym to let off some steam._**

**And so, here he was, beating the life out of a punching bag. 'It's not fair, it's just NOT FAIR!' he screamed mentally to himself. Tomorrow was his match against Marduk. He had easily downed his last few opponents, Christie, Bryan Fury, and Malana the Chinese mixed martial arts champion. **

**Finally, he slammed his foot into the bag, rattling the chain as he did so. Becoming satisfied, he left to go check up on Peter. He walked with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, the strings to his black sweatshirt bouncing playfully against his well-built chest as he moved quicker. **

**When he arrived at the hospital wing, he was surprised to see that Peter had two visitors. One was shocking to him. It was Paul Phoenix, the man that Peter defeated in the last tournament. Paul didn't recall the battle due to injury and he thought that he made it to the finals to fight Ogre. The other was a young white male that he did not recognize.**

**He watched as Paul began to leave after some encouraging words. "You did well in the tournament and I'm sorry about what happened to you. I know we didn't always get along, but I've stopped judging you. You've already proven your worth."**

"**Thanks Paul…I really don't know what to say. I'm just glad that we can be friends now." Peter replied. Paul turned around with a smile and a wave and the two exchanged goodbyes. Walking past King, Paul stopped for a second and looked up to him. "I had a son once…you're lucky." With that, Paul looked away as almost in a trance and took his leave. His last words left King in shock.**

**Shaking himself out of his own trance, King walked slowly into the room. Peter looked up and saw him as he was talking to his other friend. "Hey King! We were just talking about you. This is my friend. I don't believe the two of you have met."**

**King offered his gloved hand to the young man, and he accepted, shaking his hand with a firm grip. "My name is Joe. It's nice to officially meet you King." King smiled and looked to Peter, who was looking as if he felt better, despite the obvious physical damage he had sustained. **

"**Well, I'd better get going. I'm going to be late for my fight. Bye Peter, and it was nice meeting you King." **

"**You too, thanks. I'll see you around." Said King with an honest smile as he began to turn back around to Peter. Once Joe left, King began to speak as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.**

"**So you look like you're feeling better." He said. Peter nodded and replied "Yeah, they've got me on morphine so I'm not really feeling too much." King looked at Peter's cuts and bruises, feeling regret as well as disgust for Marduk. How could a grown man beat down on a young child? **

"**Some people just have no morals." Peter said, causing King to react in shock. "You're wondering how I knew what you were thinking, right?" Peter said before King nodded. "It's obvious, you're thinking about Marduk."**

"**You have no idea how upset I am with him Pete. It was bad enough that he did what he did, but to beat you to the point of near death?" **

**Peter looked at King with curiosity, wondering what he would say next. King continued, "I know I told you I wouldn't kill Marduk…but he's gone too far." **

**Peter flinched in shock, realizing that there was NOTHING that he could do. Starcain was gone, and Peter himself had already tried his best. It was all up to King now. "King…"**

"**I'm sorry Pete. I'm going to do this. But for now, I'm here for you." He said.**

**Peter would have swelled up with tears, but he couldn't. He was just too numb with reality to realize what King was saying to him. "I'm here for you too." He replied. King looked over and smiled, patting Peter's head as he said "Thanks."**


	24. Blood And Sweat

Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! King vs. Marduk!

Chapter 23: Blood and Sweat

"K.O.!" the announcer yelled as Kim Seung Mina hit the ground. She had just been beaten by her own boyfriend, Jaime Parker. As soon as she hit the ground, Jaime ran over to her to make sure she was okay. Lifting her up into his arms, she began to speak.

"You…held back." Jaime looked into her brown almond eyes and replied, "No matter how much I want this, I could never go all-out on you. I love you more than anybody in this world." After carrying her out of the ring, Jaime nodded to King who was watching from the sidelines.

'Marduk…you are going down this night…' King thought to himself as he did Armor King's traditional arm-swing stretch, entering the ring. "For Peter, I have to do my best. And for Armor King, I have to defeat Marduk."

That's when he heard it. The monstrous growl of the man named Marduk. All cocky and full of pride, he jumped over the ropes and walked up to King, smiling as he did so.

"Well look who we have here, the boy's father and the dead guy's son. Stuck in the middle, you're life is meaningless now. With any luck, Peter won't make it through that unfortunate beating. By the way…anyone ever find out who did it? HAHAHA!" Marduk said as he stared into King's green eyes. King could feel his anger boiling up inside of him and he wasn't going to take it much longer.

"Ohhh Marduk, wait to the ref gives the cue…you are going to die…" he replied, causing Marduk to stop laughing. Hitting his head and walking forward, Marduk yelled out to King.

"I'll break ya face!" he said as he dropped into his stance. King smiled inwardly as he too took a defensive position. The referee came forward and raised his arm in the air. Time seemed to speed up for King as he saw the referee's arm go down.

"Fight!" he yelled.

King was the first to move. Throwing his elbow forward, he was pleased by the sound Marduk made once it connected with his abdomen. Next, King thrust his knee into his stomach, using his traditional 'Rwaar!' sound. Marduk tried to block, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid King's straight-punch to the face. Allowing Marduk some time to recover, King jumped around in his stance, backing away at the same time.

"You damn fool!" Marduk yelled as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Charging forward, he threw one of his heavy fists towards King's face. Expecting this, King blocked and retaliated with a kick to the shin. Using this moment of temporary weakness, Marduk kicked him in the stomach and punched his face using both fists.

"Argh!" King yelled as he rolled backwards across the floor. While it did hurt, King was way too determined to let the pain get the better of him. He was going to fight and he was going to fight until he couldn't do it anymore.

Rising to his feet, he dodged a roundhouse kick and thrust his fist into Marduk's groin area. Jumping backwards, Marduk yelled out in pain as he clutched his area.

"You ass! That hurt!" With that, he jumped forward, tackling King to the ground. Straddling him in between his muscular legs, Marduk raised his fists, ready to pound on King's face. King raised his hands before his face, trying to provide some form of protection for himself. Marduk laughed as he began to toy around with King, faking him out and then slamming his fists into his face.

King could barely take the pain any longer, but he was determined to win. Using all of his might, King pushed Marduk off to the side and jumped up to his feet. Grabbing Marduk, he fell back to the ground and used his famous Rolling Death Cradle attack. Marduk yelled out in pain as the two rolled across the floor. King's weight smashed against Marduk as he banged his head on the floor.

Jumping off of him, King stood up and moved around in his stance, waiting for Marduk to rise again. Marduk could barely see straight. That attack had really done him some damage, but he was far too masculine to admit it. Getting tired of waiting, King kicked him in the ribs, sending him rolling away.

Marduk began to feel overwhelmed. He could feel the odds shifting over to King's favor. 'I should have prepared harder for this!' he thought as he struggled to stand up. Finally reaching his goal of standing tall, Marduk made the next move.

"RAAAAHHHHH!" He yelled as he charged yet again at King. Seeing this coming, King sidestepped the tackle and launched a Disgraceful Kick to his backside. Marduk fell face first into the floor, groaning in pain as he did so.

"I WILL avenge my mentor!" King yelled as he performed a Moonsault Body Press. Landing on Marduk, he then moved into a painful armbar. Marduk yelled in a mixture of rage and pain. It was then that he realized that he was going to lose.

"C'mon King! Enough's enough! I didn't even mean any of what I did!" Marduk yelled, pleading to have his arm spared. Becoming enraged with Marduk's words, King strained even harder on his arm, causing him to yell out in agony. The arm bar threatened to break Marduk's arm. Feeling a stroke of mercy, King let go and instead jumped on top of Marduk.

"This one's for Peter." King said before he punched him in the face.

"And this is for Armor King, the innocent man that you KILLED!" That said, King began to beat him senseless. The referee ran up to him and tried desperately to pull him away. King just pushed the man away and continued to pummel Marduk into unconsciousness. Just then, a thought struck him.

'Peter must be watching…I…I can't kill this man in front of him…' he thought. Looking around, he saw the audience. Many of them looked petrified. King felt his guilt begin to kick in.

'I can't commit this crime…not in front of all these people…'

"Be grateful Marduk. These people just spared you some time." With that, King got off of him and threw his arms up in victory. He had done it, he had avenge Armor King's death.

Grabbing the microphone from the referee, King began to make an announcement.

"Hello all. I thank you for supporting me in my time of need. I have accomplished my goal. This is to announce that I, King, will be forfeiting the tournament."


	25. King's Revenge

Chapter 24: King's Revenge

This was the perfect setup. The hospital would never suspect that King would have done it. He was here in Marduk's room for one purpose and one purpose only: he was going to kill him. Tossing the flowers to the floor, King grabbed Marduk's unconscious face and held it still.

'Be glad that you were allowed to live as long as you did.' King thought as he raised his clenched fist high up into the air. Suddenly, he looked over and caught sight of a picture. It was a picture of Marduk and his elderly parents. He looked like a _man_ in that picture, not like the beast that he always portrayed himself to be.

Letting go of Marduk's face, King reached over and picked up the picture. A sigh of frustration and relief came forth from his mouth. He now knew what he would have to do about this whole Marduk situation. He was going to have to let him live. King let go of the picture, watching carefully as it floated down to land softly on Marduk's built chest.

He knew what it was like, experiencing loss as much as he unfortunately did. He knew that Marduk's parents were innocent people, not deserving to have their one and only son pulled away from their grasp, all because of some feud. He knew if he took away Marduk's life, he would prove to be no better than he was. He would become what he feared the most, he would become a vengeful monster.

Slowly, he turned around and made his exit. Walking as masculine as he could, King felt a sense of pride flow throughout his body. He knew that he had made Armor King proud. Somewhere up in the heavens, he was smiling down at him. 'This was my ultimate test…' King thought as he left the hospital and hopped into his car. Of course, he was still sporting his mask. He thought about Peter and the time that he had to explain to him why he always wore his mask.

"_This mask has powers. When I put it on, it becomes my actual head." _The words echoed through his brain, the sound of his own voice humoring him a bit. Starting the car, King took off towards the hotel. Peter was still in the infirmary wing and no doubt, Jaime and his friends were there to support him.

As he drove, he thought about his decision. He felt certain regret for not killing Marduk but at the same time, there was that sense of pride again. He had the sense that he had done something right for a change. He knew deep down inside that he had made the right decision.

Suddenly, he saw something. He could have sworn he saw Armor King standing next to a tree in the darkness. Immediately, he slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over. Jumping out of the car, King yelled out Armor King's name over and over again, hoping to hear a response. To his lament, there was no response at all. Looking down, his eyes became teary. It would seem that he wouldn't get over his stepfather's death so easily.

Elsewhere, Peter laughed to himself. Mina was a pretty good entertainer and so was her boyfriend Jaime Parker. The two were playing charades with him, trying desperately to get Peter to cheer up. It seemed to be working. They had no idea why, but for some reason, Peter was pretty upset before. While they didn't know the answer, Peter himself knew.

Deep down inside, he felt as if King had done it. He could almost hear Marduk's blood yelling out, telling its own story of revenge.

'He did it, I know he did.' Peter thought to himself. Sadness rushed through his mental frame, and right now, he had never felt more delicate and fragile. The thought of his only friend and father killing someone for revenge depressed him. As Jaime and Mina reenacted the famous Kill Bill: Bride vs. Go Go Yubari fight scene, Peter thought back to King's last visit.

"_King, I don't want you to kill Marduk. Sure, he assaulted me and he killed Armor, but he did it because he had nothing better to do. He's an idiot and if you were to kill him, then you'd be no better." Peter said as King looked down at the floor._

"_I'm going to the hospital now to see him. I don't know what I'm going to do yet…" King replied, his intent nearly leaking off of his tongue._

"_Please don't do this…you'll go to jail! Who will I have to depend on?" _

_King looked up to his stepson, knowing full what he was going to do to Marduk. "As you told me when we first met, you can take care of yourself. Goodbye Pete, I'll see you soon."_

_Peter felt as if King's words were all a lie. He knew what King was thinking, he knew that he was going to go through with killing Marduk. He just couldn't accept it, he couldn't believe that King wouldn't even listen to him. Putting his head on his knees and wrapping his arms around his shins, he tried his hardest not to cry. Maybe, just maybe…he wouldn't do it. _

_But then he saw it. A vision of Marduk yelling a death cry flooded his mind and it terrified him right to his very bones. He imagined King coming back to him in the night, sneaking through his window, looking like a savage beast with blood drenched hands._

"What did you do!" Peter yelled out, not realizing that he was now thinking aloud. Jaime and Mina stopped everything and looked towards their friend.

"What did _who _do?" Mina said, tossing her short black hair with red streaks over her shoulder. Peter looked up and snapped out of it. He realized that he had made a mistake. He let his fears get the better of him and now he was about to involve his two friends.

'I can't let them find out what King is doing…they'd tell…' Peter thought. Paranoia was getting the better of him, but still he tried to calm himself.

"Oh it's nothing…just thinking about something my parents told me back when they were still alive." He said, deflecting all suspicion of King to another area. Then, there was a knock at the door. In came Julia, Xiaoyu, and Miharu with smiles on their beautiful faces.

"You have another visitor Peter!" Julia said as she motioned for Jaime and Mina to leave the room. With a smile, Peter said goodbye to all of his guests and wondered who was here to see him. After everybody left, King entered the room. Peter's face brightened with joy, but then went to a look of fear as he thought back to what King had said before.

King sat down in the chair next to the bed and slowly looked to Peter.

"Did…did you do it?" Peter asked, not bothering to look up from his spot on the bed.

King sighed heavily, making Peter's eyes get teary. 'I knew this was going to happen…' he thought to himself.

"I…I didn't kill him…" King said. Peter closed his eyes, hearing the total opposite of what King actually said. Then, he absorbed what he said, realizing that he in fact didn't murder Marduk. Quickly, he looked to his stepfather with a shocked expression.

"You…didn't go through with it?" Peter asked. King looked him in the eye and shook his head. Suddenly, Peter's face lit up with a gigantic smile and he reached over to hug King.

"I'm so proud of you! And I'm sure Armor is too!" Peter said as he hugged his stepfather tightly. King hugged back and closed his eyes, smiling with near-tears of joy. He knew that he had done the right thing, and that was all that mattered. He knew that Marduk would never know how to be a true man, and that was something he would never achieve. Marduk would never be a man and King would always be a gentleman. Now _that…_that was King's revenge.


End file.
